An errant forehand volley on a sitter ball was the ostensible downfall of Paolo Lorenzi, Novak Djokovic's first-round opponent at the Australian Open. The 30-year-old Italian, ranked No. 109 and playing in only his fourth major, had broken Djokovic first at 1-1 in the first set. Serving at 2-3, 15-love, Lorenzi guided the easy forehand volley far into the deuce alley. He never won another game as Djokovic, the top seed and defending champion, proceeded to reel off 17 straight games in a decisive 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 drubbing.
Lorenzi's task was herculean from the start. Djokovic **hadn't dropped a single set in the first rounds of majors in 2011—and for good measure, had a 19-match winning streak against Italians. He also enjoyed a longer off-season than at this time last year, when he came to Australia only a month after helping Serbia win the 2010 Davis Cup final. With his tremendous court coverage and fitness, Djokovic forces many lesser players into missing and muffing all kinds of shots, something Lorenzi would discover.
After a mild-weather lead-in to the Australian Open, it hit the mid-90's today in Melbourne, and Djokovic looked somewhat weary after dropping his second service game. He took a long towel-off and blinked his eyes rapidly, but when he got back out onto the court, he started to make his opponent run. Djokovic hit wide forehands with plenty of top spin and flat ones down the line. He did the same with his perfectly-balanced backhand. And of course, there were the lollipop drop shots, which led Lorenzi to try and out cat-and-mouse Djokovic, of which he had little success. Surprisingly, Djokovic also moved forward into the net, as Fred Stolle said announcing the match, "to test out his volley." It was working beautifully, particularly his touch, short-angle droppers. Darren Cahill, announcing the match in a different broadcast, called Djokovic "a man possessed."
Even after winning three Slams, ten titles and garnering a 70-6 match record in 2011, Djokovic seemed to be playing pressure-free today. The last time Djokovic lost a first-round match in a major was at the 2006 Australian Open, to Paul Goldstein (his only other first-round exit at a major was was at the 2005 Australian, Open to Marat Safin). Filippo Volandri was the last Italian to beat Djokovic, in 2004, but Lorenzi, primarily a Challenger player, looked like he put up the white flag after he was unable to convert on three break points in the first game of the second set. Lorenzi's loss was just part of a poor day for the Italians, as Lorenzi, Filippo Volandri, Andreas Seppi and Matteo Viola all went down.
*—Dan Markowitz
*Dan Markowitz is writing a book on the upcoming 2012 season entitled "Chasing the GOAT: Roger, Rafa & Nole."
