Djokovic beats Lestienne at Adelaide International for winning start to 2023

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic kept up his winning streak in singles matches in Australia, beating Constant Lestienne of France 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday in the first round of the Adelaide International.

It was Djokovic's 30th straight singles victory on Australian soil in a streak that goes back to 2018.

Tuesday's win was Djokovic's first in singles this season and keeps him on course for a semifinal match in Adelaide with 7th-ranked Daniil Medvedev, the third seed, who earlier beat Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 7-6 (6), 2-1 when Sonego was forced to retire with a right arm injury.

Djokovic's match was close at first but he took control after breaking Lestienne to go up 4-2 in the first set. He won the first four games of the second set and took the match on his first match point.

Djokovic, whose last loss in Australia was in the fourth round of the 2018 Australian Open, will face either Jordan Thompson of Australia or Quentin Halys of France for a place in the quarterfinals.

He was again warmly received by the crowd in Adelaide where he won this tournament at only 19.

Djokovic is playing in Australia for the first time since 2021. He has won the tournament nine times. He was deported last year because his unvaccinated status breached Australian vaccination requirement for in-bound travelers.

Elsewhere, Denis Shapovalov, who helped Canada claim its first-ever Davis Cup at the end of November, opened play in Australia with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata.

In late October, Shapovalov fell short of winning his first singles title of the year, losing 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 to Daniil Medvedev in the Vienna Open final.

It marked the second runner-up finish for Shapovalov within a month after he fell to Yoshihito Nishioka at the Korea Open on Oct. 2.

WATCH | Shapovalov overcomes slow start to take Adelaide opener:

Shapovalov advances in Adelaide

2 years ago

Duration 2:32

Number seven seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the second round of the Adelaide International 1 in Australia.

Medvedev rallies to edge Sonego

Earlier, Medvedev saved nine set points before taking the first set in a tiebreaker against the 45th-ranked Sonego.

"I didn't know it was nine [set points]," Medvedev said. "That's actually crazy. Probably, maybe the first time in my life I've saved nine set points.

"What a match to start the year," he added.

Sonego was playing Medvedev for the first time and often seemed to have the upper hand in the first set. He had six set points on Medvedev's serve at 5-4 but Medvedev was able to rely on his big serve when he had to, saving all six.

Two games later, Sonego had three more set points at 0-40 on Medvedev's but Medvedev rallied again, eventually taking the set after 80 minutes.

"To be honest 0-40 was a tough moment," he said. "I didn't count but I knew I saved a lot of set points.

Medvedev will meet Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic for a quarterfinal place.

Gauff halts 5-match losing streak

At the ASB Classic, top-seeded American Coco Gauff also had to contend with two lengthy rain delays before beating Germany's Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-1 in Auckland, New Zealand.

The seventh-ranked Gauff had let slip a 4-0 lead in the first set and Maria was serving at 4-3 when a cloudburst forced the players from the court. Play resumed briefly and Gauff improved her lead to 5-4 when the second rain break occurred.

Gauff returned to win six straight games to open a 5-0 lead in the second set before Maria held serve again. Gauff calmly served out the match for her first win of the year to snap a five-match losing streak.

In another match, former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu overcame wind and rain in a match which stretched over almost four hours to beat Linda Fruhvirtova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in her first singles match of 2023.

The match was twice interrupted by rain and the second delay in the deciding set forced the players from the court for almost an hour.

Raducanu returned to take charge by immediately breaking the 17-year-old Fruhvirtova for a 2-0 lead and going on to serve for the match at 5-0.

The Toronto-born Raducanu was playing her first competitive match in 2 1/2 months and had to fight hard against the Czech teenager.

Raducanu's second-round opponent will be Slovakia qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova, who upset fourth-seeded Bernarda Pera 6-4, 6-4.

Berrettini puts Italy in Brisbane City final at United Cup

Matteo Berrettini has beaten world No. 3 Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to propel Italy past Norway and into the Brisbane City Final of the United Cup.

Berrettini's win gave Italy and unassailable 3-0 lead over Norway Tuesday and ensured it will finish atop Group E at the mixed teams tournament and will face either Poland or Switzerland on Wednesday.

Ruud had twice beaten Berrettini in 2022, in the final at Gstaad and in the quarterfinals of the US Open, winning five straight sets against the Italian. Berrettini turned the tables at the Pat Rafter Arena Tuesday, coming out strong and winning the match in 1 hour, 26 minutes.

"The goal is to have the longest run possible," Berrettini said. "It's super nice to play with my teammates. We know each other since a really young age. It's crazy and now we're representing Italy. It's such an honour for us."

Ruud showed good form on hard courts in 2022, reaching an ATP 1000 final and the championship match at the ATP Finals. But Berrettini was the more aggressive player Tuesday in hot conditions in Brisbane.

Berrettini faced two break points at 2-3 in the first set and if Ruud had converted, he might have taken control of the match. But the Norwegian wasn't able to put a return in court on either point as Berrettini met the challenge with two booming services. He finished with 10 aces and won 88 percent of first serve points.

"Casper, he's a super-solid player," Berrettini said. "He improved so much in the past year so I knew that I had to serve my best.

Sakkari guides Greece to Perth City Finals

In Perth, Maria Sakkari earned Greece a Perth City Finals place with a 6-1, 7-5 defeat of Belgium's Elise Mertens.

Greece required only two points from the final tie of Group A to advance and Sakkari's win backed up compatriot Stefanos Tsitsipas' defeat of David Goffin on Monday.

"It was a very solid match from my side," Sakkari said.

"Obviously I was nervous in the beginning because I knew my match was crucial, but I managed to play a good game, even though in some moments it wasn't pretty. I'm very happy I was able to get us through the group stages."

Pegula, Tiafoe post wins for U.S.

In Sydney, the United States completed a 5-0 win over Germany with wins by Jessica Pegula against Laura Siegemund and Frances Tiafoe over Oscar Otte.

Pegula and Taylor Fritz then combined to beat Julia Lohoff and Fabian Fallert in the mixed doubles as the United States topped Group C.