The world's number one advanced to the second round of the Australian Open after defeating Hyeon Chung in straight sets winning 6-3 6-2-6-4. At just 19 years of age, the young South Korean does not have much experience on the big stage and it showed as he could not match the all-around game from Novak Djokovic.
While he was forced to work a little bit more than what he wanted to against the up and coming tennis sensation, the reigning Aussie Open champion got on and off the court in a mere hour and 55 minutes.
Djokovic wins two early breaks
Chung did well to hang on early in the first set against Djokovic, holding his first couple of serves. During his first service game, however, the Korean was challenged as the defending champion was not easing into this match. He had to fight back, going down a point earl and forcing Novak to hit a shot off the top half of the racket, sending it straight up into the air to level things at 15 all.
Eventually though, Chung would get broken and that came in the sixth game of the match. Novak Djokovic wore down the youngster on the first point with a long rally before chasing down an angled drop shot while racing back to the middle of the court to connect on a passing shot to take the lead. An unforced error gave Djokovic the break after he placed a shot beautifully right behind the net.
The pair would exchange a couple more breaks with Chung getting the first one to get back into the opening set as he read the shots off of his opponent's racket well to get back on serve. For Djokovic, breaking Chung a second time was a bit of a challenge as he had to take the game to deuce before eventually getting the advantage and the set.
Novak dominates second set
It did not take long before the 28-year-old took complete control of the match. In the next set, Djokovic won the opening four games. The first game that Chung won in the set was the longest game of the match as neither were able to take the upper hand. This fantastic game between the pair lasted eight deuces before the younger found the game winner after both men hit some fantastic shots in difficult situations.
A light switch seemed to have turned on for Novak and was able to dictate how that set was going to be played, placing his shots everywhere he wanted which made his challenger exert much more energy than otherwise wanted.
For all that hard work Chung did in the second set, he gave Djokovic a big edge in the third when the Serbian managed to break his serve in seemingly one swift motion. This was the deciding factor that clinched Novak's victory as the two exchanged holds of serve for the rest of the match. While Chung did improve as the match wore on, he was really unable to test Djokovic but is certainly one to watch in the coming years.
Novak Djokovic's second round opposition in the first major tournament of the year will be either Quentin Halys or Ivan Dodig. No matter who faces Novak, they will be a heavy underdog.