6-time Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic shocked in 2nd round
Canadian Milos Raonic, who could have faced Djokovic in semis, advances
Defending champion Novak Djokovic is out of the Australian Open, beaten 7-6 (8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 by wild-card entry Denis Istomin in a second-round match on Thursday.
Istomin made the vital break in the fifth game of the deciding set, then held service the rest of the way in the marathon 4 hour, 48-minute match on Rod Laver Arena.
"All the credit to Denis for playing amazing. He deserves to win," Djokovic said. "He was the better player in the clutch moments.
"Obviously, I was not pleased with my performance overall, but I have to congratulate my opponent. Whenever he needed — he came up with a big serve, big play."
The Serbian, supplanted late last year by Andy Murray as world No. 1, has won five of the last six Australian Open tournaments and six overall. It was his earliest exit from the event in 10 years.
Istomin had never beaten a top 10 player at a Grand Slam tournament.
"It is the biggest win for me. It means so much," Istomin said. "Now I feel I can play with these guys, and to be with them on the same level."
Raonic reaches 3rd round
Meanwhile, third-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic ended one streak and continued another with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Thursday over Gilles Mueller to reach the third round.
The Thornhill, Ont., native who reached the semifinals here last year and the final at Wimbledon, had lost both previous matches to Mueller — including one when he retired with an injured hip in the second round at Wimbledon in 2012.
His win Thursday maintained Raonic's record of reaching the third round at least all seven years he has contested the Australian Open.
The 33-year-old Mueller entered the season's first major after capturing his first tour-level title in Sydney last week.
Raonic was unable to defend his Brisbane title in the first week of the season, but is finding rhythm quickly in Melbourne — he fired 21 aces, hit 56 winners and only had 15 unforced errors against Muller.
He left the court complaining of a sore throat, and will get a day off before his next match against No. 25 Gilles Simon.
No. 15 Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Raonic in the semifinals before winning the Brisbane International earlier this month, moved into the third round with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Chung Hye-on. Dimitrov will next play No. 18 Richard Gasquet.
Rafael Nadal swept aside 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday to advance to the third round of the tournament the Spaniard won in 2009.
The 14-time major champion won on his third match point in 2 hours, 13 minutes.
Nadal, who lost in the first round here last year to Fernando Verdasco, is looking to win his first major since the 2014 French Open. He had two lengthy stints on the sidelines last year and played only four matches after a fourth-round exit at the U.S. Open.
He will play Alexander Zverev in the third round. The 24th-seeded Zverev beat Frances Tiafoe in straight sets earlier Thursday.
Serena dispatches Safarova
Serena Williams managed to do what another six-time Australian Open champion couldn't achieve on Thursday — advance to the third round. Williams, playing on the same court that saw six-time winner Novak Djokovic lose in five sets to wild-card entry Denis Istomin, beat Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-4.
It was their first meeting since Williams won their French Open final in 2015.
Safarova had saved nine match points in her first-round match, but there were no such theatrics in this one.
The Czech player double-faulted on break point in the seventh game of the second set, and Williams clinched the match three games later.
Williams will now play Nicole Gibbs, who beat another American, Irina Falconi, 6-4, 6-1.
The second-seeded Williams is bidding to become the first player in the Open era to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles. She lost in the final here last year to Angelique Kerber, but clinched her 22nd major, tying Steffi Graf, at Wimbledon.
Pliskova continues to dominate
U.S. Open finalist Karolina Pliskova has carried her title-winning form in the warmup tournament into the season's first major, dropping just four games en route to the third round.
Pliskova was leading 6-0, 4-0 against Anna Blinkova in the second round on Thursday before the 18-year-old Russian qualifier, ranked 189th, held serve and later held up her arm to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd. Fifth-seeded Pliskova finished off the match 6-0, 6-2 in less than an hour — she won her first-round match 6-2, 6-0.
"It's always good to be in the zone," said Pliskova, who won the Brisbane International title earlier this month. "It can always be a bit better."
Pliskova has reached the third round for three straight years at Melbourne Park, which equalled her best previous run at a Grand Slam until she reached the final in New York last September. She beat Serena Williams in the semifinals at the U.S. Open before losing to Angelique Kerber.
Murray returns to practice after injury
Johanna Konta, who made a surprising run to the semifinals in her debut Australian Open last year before losing to eventual champion Kerber, advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Naomi Osaka.
Konta, voted the WTA Tour's most improved player of 2016 after moving from 48th to 10th in the rankings, opened the season by winning the Sydney International title last week.
Konta will next play former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, the U.S. Open semifinalist last September. Wozniacki was broken while serving for the match against Donna Vekic, but immediately broke back at love to win 6-1, 6-3.
WTA Finals winner Dominika Cibulkova held off Hsieh Su-wei 6-4, 7-6 (8) and will next play No. 30 Ekaterina Makarova, who was leading 6-2, 3-2 when Sara Errani retired because of a leg injury.
Andy Murray returned to the practice court for an afternoon hitting session under the scrutiny of coach Ivan Lendl, allaying concerns about his injured right ankle. Top-ranked Murray, a five-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, twisted his ankle and tumbled to the court during the third set of his otherwise routine second-round win on Wednesday night.
With files from CBC Sports