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Djokovic kicks off Australian Open campaign with 15th win in row

Melbourne, Australia, Feb 8 (efe-epa).- Top-seed Novak Djokovic on Monday did not give France’s Jeremy Chardy a chance in his 15th consecutive Australian Open victory.

The two-time defending champion did not face a single break point in his 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 win over the Frenchman in just over an hour and a half. Djokovic, the second most decorated male player in majors behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, will play against American Frances Tiafoe, seeking out a record ninth Australian Open title.

At the same venue, the Rod Laver Arena, Dominic Thiem of Austria kicked off his hunt for a second Grand Slam title in a row with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. The third-seed Thiem, who was a set away from the 2020 Australian Open title, will square off against Dominik Koepfer of Germany in the second round, seeking to build up on his 2020 US Open success.

Local favorite Nick Kyrgios needed three sets and nearly two hours to prevail over Portuguese qualifier Frederico Ferreira Silva 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a second-round clash against Ugo Humbert of France. Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka put on a solid performance against Portugal’s Pedro Sousa for a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win in one hour and 36 minutes without facing a single break point.

Wawrinka, who won the first of his three Grand Slam titles at Melbourne in 2014, will play against Márton Fucsovics of Hungary. Spaniard Pabla Carreno Busta sent Japan’s Kei Nishikori packing with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory, while Germany’s Alexander Zverev had to rally back from a set down for a 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-2 victory over US Marcos Giron. EFE-EPA

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