Novak Djokovic suffered his initial loss of the year and his first in Australia in six years, as he was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Alex de Minaur. This gave Australia a 1-0 advantage over Serbia in their quarter-final match for the United Cup on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic struggled with a wrist injury during Serbia’s win against Czech Republic on Tuesday. The top-ranked player had the injury treated by a trainer before Alex De Minaur broke his serve and won the first set. Despite saving three match points, the Australian Open winner lost the match to De Minaur, causing a surprise upset before the upcoming grand slam event.
Djokovic was on a 43-match winning run in Australia and preparing for a tilt at an 11th Melbourne Park title having last lost in the country to Hyeon Chung in the fourth round of the 2018 edition when he was plagued by an elbow issue.
“It’s extremely special,” De Minaur, the world No 12, said about the biggest win of his career. “Novak’s an unbelievable competitor and what he’s done for the sport is pretty special. It feels surreal, it feels amazing and I’m happy to do it here in Perth and in Australia.
“Ultimately when you go against Novak, you’ve just got to go out there, try and enjoy, back yourself and no matter what, keep fighting till the end. Today was my day. I’m happy I was able to get the win. This one definitely means a lot.”
Poland, the first-ranked team, defeated China in order to advance to the semi-finals of the 18-team tournament. Hubert Hurkacz, known for his powerful hits, easily defeated Zhang Zhizhen with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek made a comeback from being down 2-0 in the first set to defeat Zheng Qinwen with a final score of 6-2, 6-3. This marked Swiatek’s third consecutive singles win in the tournament, which she is using as preparation for the upcoming Australian Open.
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Caroline Garcia and Adrian Mannarino led France to the quarter-finals by defeating Italy. Garcia defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 while Mannarino defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-4 in their Group D match. In Group B, Greece took a 1-0 lead over Canada as Stefanos Tsitsipas won his first singles match of the season against Steven Diez with a score of 6-2, 6-3.
