Novak Djokovic, the fourth-seeded player, had to overcome a number of distractions during his second-round match at the Australian Open against 191st-ranked French qualifier Enzo Couacaud. Djokovic was bothered by a hamstring injury, which he propped up on a courtside sign to stretch and grimaced after one point. He also took a medical timeout while a trainer re-taped him during the second set, which he would go on to drop. As if that wasn’t enough, Djokovic was also flustered by a heckler, and even asked chair umpire Fergus Murphy to have the spectator removed from Rod Laver Arena.
Despite these distractions, Djokovic managed to pull through and beat Couacaud 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-0. This win extended his streak at the Australian Open to 23 consecutive wins and put him one step closer to his 10th trophy at Melbourne Park, which would add to his own record and a 22nd Grand Slam title overall, which would equal Nadal’s.
Couacaud, on the other hand, entered the match with a career mark of 2-5, and his chances seemed to dim early on when he turned his right ankle and required a visit from a trainer. However, Couacaud overcame this injury and played freely, conjuring some terrific shot-making and even having some fun, celebrating his claim of the second set by pointing to the court as if to indicate, “This is my house!”
In the end, Djokovic’s experience and skill proved to be too much for Couacaud and he managed to come out victorious. He will now face Grigor Dimitrov in the next round, knowing that with two highly-ranked contenders, Nadal and Ruud, out of the tournament, the path to the final becomes a bit easier.