Sports Desk, Jan 19 (EFE).- Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic recorded his 100th career victory at the Australian Open on Monday with a comfortable win over Spain’s Pedro Martínez in the first round, as he began his bid for an 11th title in Melbourne and a record 25th Grand Slam crown.
The milestone adds another record to the 38-year-old’s career, with Djokovic now targeting the all-time mark of 102 match wins at Melbourne Park held by Switzerland’s Roger Federer.
“What can I say? I like the sound of it,” Djokovic said on court after his two-hour victory. “Centurion is a pretty nice feeling.”
He said he was even “more inspired to play the best tennis and that’s what I’ve done” once he got “into the position that I could eventually create history.”
The Serb credited his longevity to the guidance he received early in his career.
“I was very fortunate early on in my career to encounter some people that taught me and guided me to play the long shot with my career, not to burn out too quickly, to take care of my mind and body and try to have as long of a career as possible. I’m blessed to be still playing at this level.”
Djokovic is the only player in tennis history to have more than 100 match wins at three different Grand Slam tournaments.
The US Open, where he has 95 victories, is the only major where he has yet to reach the century mark.
In the second round, Djokovic will face Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli, who earned his first main-draw Grand Slam win by defeating France’s Terence Atmane 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-1.
The 38-year-old indicated that he is using every available hour to get his body in shape for the next match, noting he had a couple of days without a match to recover. EFE
apa-sk
