Melbourne [Australia]: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic defied an injury scare to battle his way into the third round of the Australian Open after securing a win over Enzo Couacaud at the Rod Laver arena on Thursday.
The nine-time champion, Novak Djokovic persisted through his pain to oust the Frenchman 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0 despite battling with his bandaged left leg. After dropping the second set tie-break, Djokovic seemed to be struggling, but he quickly recovered and charged through the remaining three hours and four minutes of the match to seal the third-round spot.
Andy Murray produced yet another resilient performance to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 in a five-set marathon to advance into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
The tennis star produced a win in consecutive five-set thrillers to beat home favourite Kokkinakis with a comeback in the longest match of his career, which ended just two hours before sunrise in Melbourne. The South Australian gave up 102 winners, including 37 aces, against Murray.
