‘He’s pulled the rabbit out of the hat’ – Nick Kyrgios on Novak Djokovic win over Alexei Popyrin at Australian Open

Djokovic, the defending champion in Melbourne, took the first set 6-3 in routine fashion, before Popyrin, driven on by his home support, roared back to level the scores, taking the second 6-4.

World No.1 Djokovic faced four set points in the third set, but he eked through in a tie-break to haul himself back into the driving seat, before sealing victory in the fourth set.

“Novak somehow survived. I have no idea how,” said Kyrgios in the Eurosport Cube.

“You look at [his] record in Grand Slams and against Australians in general, and how much that third set meant towards Alexei and the entire match.

“[Popyrin] had four set points, and they were all on his racquet; they were right there. That’s going to be haunting him for at least the next couple weeks, for sure. These are the moments you live for, these are the matches you train all those hours on court to show up here in your backyard.

“He had the opportunities; he was the better player for most of that match. It’s unbelievable that I’m saying that against Novak Djokovic, but he was the better player for the majority of the match.”

“We rarely wake up on a good day and feel 100 per cent,” the Australian said.

“I think definitely today he looked a little slower than usual. He was playing with that wrist, trying to move it, maybe he has a bit of the flu as well.

“We struggle to feel good and that extra day off tomorrow, he’ll probably use that. He might have a light hit, but as long as you win, that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter how you’re feeling, but he’s somehow pulled the rabbit out of the hat.

“I’m sure you [Tim Henman] felt diabolical sometimes waking up for a Grand Slam match, but you’ve just got to get on with it and [Novak], of all people, is the best at that.”

Eurosport expert Tim Henman noted that Djokovic’s eventual victory had been “a real struggle”.

“You felt that once he got that first set, this was going to be fairly routine, but Popyrin deserved a lot of credit for the way he was able to start to turn that match around,” Henman said.

“The longer it went you felt like ‘Wow, this is an unbelievable opportunity’, but it’s about finding a way to get the win and Djokovic has done that so many times in his career. He was able to do it again tonight.

“[Popyrin] didn’t play too badly in the first set. Second set, he didn’t go away, and to get that break of serve early in [that set], that changed the momentum. Although he wasn’t able to serve it out, to finish the second set with a shot like that, that brought the belief into the crowd as well and he knew how to work it. A set all, it was all to play for.”