Novak Djokovic continues on the Melbourne Park warpath after opening round win

The Australian Open rarely honours foreigners with statues, but Novak Djokovic looks every bit like breaking his own titles record - is he worthy of being cast in bronze forever, asks Julian Linden?

One day, Tennis Australia should build a statue of Novak Djokovic to commemorate his incredible achievements in the sport in this country.

There’s already a few bronze busts around the plush grounds of Melbourne Park but they are mostly of Aussie legends, like Rod Laver and Margaret Court.

Despite being global tournaments, the grand slams rarely honour foreign players but there is one notable expectation - Roland-Garros has a statue of Rafa Nadal, honouring his 14 French Open titles.

As the only man to win 10 Aussie Open titles, there should be a permanent statute for Djokovic in Melbourne when he eventually retires.

At 37, that may not be far away but for now, the Serbian is focused on winning an 11th Australian Open to break Court’s long standing record of 24 grand slam singles titles.

He’s got a pretty good chance if his early form is anything to go by after he demolished American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in their first round match on Monday night.

Just 19, Basavareddy is a player for the future and he gave everything he had against the GOAT.

He won the opening set with a single break of serve and went toe to toe for half the second set when Djokovic broke his serve and then his spirit as he began to struggle with cramps.

“In the end, it was a great result. I think he was the better player for a set and a half, and he deserves every bit of the applause that he got when he was leaving the court,” Djokovic said.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic against USA's Nishesh Basavareddy during first round match at the Australian Open

“It was a great performance from him. To be really honest with you, I had never seen him play up to maybe three days ago so I didn’t know much about him.”

In praising his opponent, Djokovic said it was also just the exact sort of match he needed to blow away the cobwebs as he raced away to a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.

“These kind of matches are always tricky and dangerous, especially when you’re playing against somebody who hasn’t got anything to lose with it being his first match ever at a Grand Slam level,” Djokovic said.

“He is a very complete player and he did very pleasantly surprise me with his shots and his fighting spirit towards the end. I wish him all the best for the rest of his career.“

“He is a teenager still but he didn’t get carried away by the significance of the moment. It’s not easy stepping out onto the centre court for the first time and handling the nerves. He has handled himself really well so I’m sure we’ll see a lot of him in the future.”

Andy Murray is now coaching Novak Djokovic

In his on-court interview, Djokovic also opened up what it’s like to have his old foe Andy Murray now working as his coach, saying it was odd after they used to oppose each other from both sides of the same Rod Laver Arena net.

“I’m thrilled to have him in my corner. I must say that it’s a bit strange to have him courtside in my box,” Djokovic said.

“We played for over 20 years against each other at the highest level, so it’s nice to have him on my side of the net. He gave me some great advice during the match.

“It’s really nice to be able to exchange some feedback. It’s been a really nice experience, hopefully we don’t stop here.“

Originally published as Novak Djokovic continues on the Melbourne Park warpath after opening round win