Djokovic continues to make Australian Open history as tour’s elder endearing statesman
Serb showed off astounding movement in 100th win in Melbourne to begin his 22nd grand slam season in style The very first point of Novak Djokovic’s 2026 season offered an instant reminder of his enduring greatness,Djokovic started his first match of his Australian Open campaign, also his opening match of the season, by working his way through a breathless 17-stroke rally and then punctuating the exchange with a perfectly timed forehand winner,He could not help but chuckle at his own genius,That blazing start set the tone for a straightforward night inside Rod Laver Arena as Djokovic began his 22nd grand slam season with an effortless 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Spain’s Pedro Martínez,It was also the Serb’s 100th win at the Australian Open, a feat he has also achieved at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.
Djokovic seems to create history every time he steps on to a tennis court these days, and this occasion was no different.By simply lining up to the baseline against Martínez, Djokovic tied Roger Federer’s record of most main draw appearances at the Australian Open (21), a tournament he has won a record 10 times, and Federer’s and Feliciano López’s record of most grand slam appearances (81).At 38 years old, Djokovic again finds himself attempting to achieve the borderline impossible by becoming the oldest men’s grand slam winner in the history of tennis.The odds were always against this being a close match.Martínez is ranked No 71 and most comfortable on clay courts and the ATP Challenger tour.
He is a quintessential grinder who simply does not possess the firepower to seriously trouble a player of Djokovic’s calibre most of the time.Still, Djokovic’s performance was a supreme demonstration of his enduring quality.His serving was precise and he tore Martínez’s defence apart with his forehand.Most notably, at his age Djokovic’s movement is still astounding, still narrowing the court with his defence and anticipation while several steps ahead of his opponents.Even now, after so many years and miles in his legs, there is little reason to doubt that Djokovic is still capable of playing top-level tennis.
The question is whether he can do so across the best of five sets and particularly five or six matches into the event,Last year, he could not,Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four grand slam tournaments, an immense achievement, but on each occasion he was too worn down exactly when he needed his very best tennis against the best players in the world,After retiring from his Australian Open semi-final, he was flattened in his subsequent semi-finals by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz,For so long Djokovic was, to many, the unwanted third man who had stepped in and ruined the duopoly between Federer and Rafael Nadal, and the mixed reception he has received from certain crowds has been a continuous topic throughout his career.
Those days are long gone.In this latter part of his career, with the finishing line drawing ever closer, Djokovic’s status as the tour’s elder statesman has endeared him even to many of his detractors.While past crowds would have cheered fiercely for his challenger, on Monday, Rod Laver Arena was united in its support and adulation for the champion.A seven-minute on-court interview followed, a spectacle that was usually reserved for Federer.Djokovic had his audience in the palm of his hand as he spoke gleefully about his longevity.
“I was very fortunate early on in my career to encounter some people that taught me and guided me to play the long shot in my career – not to burn out too quickly, take care of my body, of my mind and try to have as long a career as possible,” he said.Few athletes attract drama like Djokovic, but this year he took the decision to remove himself from a particularly dramatic situation.He opted to step away from the PTPA, the purported player association he co-founded, which filed a class-action lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, ITF and the four grand slam tournaments last year.This week the organisation confirmed that it had come to a settlement with Tennis Australia while the conflict continues.Djokovic, however, is entirely focused on extracting the most out of his career for however long he has left on the court.
Monday was a positive day for veteran champions,Earlier, Stan Wawrinka became the second oldest man to win a singles match at the Australian Open as he recovered from a set down the edge past Laslo Djere of Serbia 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) and reached the second round,Wawrinka, now 40, will retire at the end of the season after a supreme career that includes three grand slam titles at the Australian, French and US Open,“I know I’m not as good as I was before,” said Wawrinka,“I know I’m not physical and tennis-wise as I was before.
That’s normal,I’m getting old,But I’m still happy with what I’m doing, always trying to push my own limit, always trying to be better,I’m happy that I had the chance to win match in slams here,”
He called himself an ‘untouchable hacker god’. But who was behind the biggest crime Finland has ever known?
Tiina Parikka was half-naked when she read the email. It was a Saturday in late October 2020, and Parikka had spent the morning sorting out plans for distance learning after a Covid outbreak at the school where she was headteacher. She had taken a sauna at her flat in Vantaa, just outside Finland’s capital, Helsinki, and when she came into her bedroom to get dressed, she idly checked her phone. There was a message that began with Parikka’s name and her social security number – the unique code used to identify Finnish people when they access healthcare, education and banking. “I knew then that this is not a game,” she says
China blocks Nvidia H200 AI chips that US government cleared for export – report
Suppliers of parts for Nvidia’s H200 have paused production after Chinese customs officials blocked shipments of the newly approved artificial intelligence processors from entering China, according to a report.Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which appeared in the Financial Times citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment made outside regular business hours.Nvidia had expected more than one million orders from Chinese clients, the report said, adding that its suppliers had been operating around the clock to prepare for shipping as early as March.Chinese customs authorities this week told customs agents that Nvidia’s H200 chips were not permitted to enter the country, Reuters reported
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Partly AI-generated folk-pop hit barred from Sweden’s official charts
A hit song has been excluded from Sweden’s official chart after it emerged the “artist” behind it was an AI creation.I Know, You’re Not Mine – or Jag Vet, Du Är Inte Min in Swedish – by a singer called Jacub has been a streaming success in Sweden, topping the Spotify rankings.However, the Swedish music trade body has excluded the song from the official chart after learning it was AI-generated.“Jacub’s track has been excluded from Sweden’s official chart, Sverigetopplistan, which is compiled by IFPI Sweden. While the song appears on Spotify’s own charts, it does not qualify for inclusion on the official chart under the current rules,” said an IFPI Sweden spokesperson
Prominent PR firm accused of commissioning favourable changes to Wikipedia pages
A high-profile PR company founded by Keir Starmer’s communications chief has been accused of commissioning changes to Wikipedia pages to make them more favourable towards clients.Portland Communications, founded by Tim Allan, has been linked to the so-called black hat edits, sometimes referred to as “Wikilaundering”. Several changes were made to Wikipedia pages by a network of editors, allegedly controlled by a contractor working on Portland’s behalf.According to an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), Portland outsourced Wikipedia editing relating to some of its high-profile clients, including the state of Qatar.TBIJ said it had evidence of alleged Wikipedia edits made on behalf of Portland between 2016 and 2024
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