Joking aside, Djokovic hopes to make history

Associated Press

melbourne, australia

Novak Djokovic shelved the conventional preparations for a while, warming up for a shot at a third consecutive Australian title with a bit of weekend hit-and-giggle and a Gangnam Style dance with Serena Williams.

That was for kids’ day, when thousands of people flocked to Rod Laver Arena to see 2012 Australian champions Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka hitting in a just-for-fun match with players including past champions Roger Federer and Williams, a cast of human-sized cartoon characters and a marching band that played the tune to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Today, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic will be back to work, hoping his opener against Paul-Henri Mathieu is the first of seven matches this month at the venue where he’s had the most success in Grand Slam tennis. His five-set, 5-hour, 53-minute win over Rafael Nadal in the final last year has already been written into Australian Open folklore, and followed his titles at Melbourne Park in 2008 and 2011.

The fun matches, the joking around and the break from official tournaments in the offseason are crucial ingredients to Djokovic’s success in Australia.

“You get time to recover, regroup, recharge your batteries mentally, physically, try to get ready for the new season,” said the 25-year-old Djokovic, who had a final practice session early Sunday afternoon with fellow Serbian Viktor Troicki . “You come here fresh. You’re motivated and inspired to play some good tennis.

“This is my most successful Grand Slam. But this Grand Slam is also known for a lot of surprises, players who have been reaching the final stages who are not expected to. We’ll see. The Australian Open always brings something interesting.”

No man has won three successive Australian titles in the Open era, which dates back to 1968 — Jack Crawford (1931-33) and Roy Emerson (1963-67) did it before then. Nine players have won back-to-back titles in the meantime, but were unable to complete the hat trick.

Maria Sharapova finished her first match of the year in 55 minutes today, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Olga Puchkova to start proceedings on center court at the Australian Open without showing any signs of trouble with her sore right shoulder.

The No. 2-ranked Sharapova, who lost the final to Victoria Azarenka here last year before going on to win the French Open, faced only two break points in the match and she saved both of those in the first game.

Then she went on a 12-game roll that earned her a second “double bagel” inside a year.

Sharapova has a potential third-round match against Venus Williams, who needed just an hour for her opening 6-1, 6-0 win over Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan.

Williams played with power and determination and took command of the match early with a steady stream of winners and powerful serves.

She skipped last year’s Australian Open due to illness and was warmly welcomed with applause as she entered the court.