The 2017 tennis season kicked off with the Australian Open earlier this week and while the majority of the matches from the first three rounds went as expected for the most part there were two major surprises that nobody saw coming. Novak Djokovic entered the tournament as the sports betting favorite to win outright and he didn’t make it past the second round after he was stunned by an unranked opponent. Meanwhile, Djokovic wasn’t the only player on the men’s side that was eliminated much earlier than expected with Marin Cilic following him just one round later. Here is a look at the biggest surprises on the men’s side from the first week of the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic Upset By Dennis Istomin
The most shocking upset from the first week of the Australian Open was Djokovic’s upset loss to World No. 117 Dennis Istomin in five sets. It marked the first time that Djokovic has lost before the third round in a Grand Slam event. Istomin took the first set 7-6 (10-8) after a grueling 85 minutes and while Djokovic hit back by winning the next two it was Istomin who forced the match to a deciding set and ultimately got the job done in that fifth set. The six-time champion was the favorite to win the tournament on the men’s side so the fact that he stumbled so early on was absolutely shocking. Djokovic was criticized by his former coach for being too soft and too defensive versus Istomin but there are a number of experts that agree he could be experiencing fatigue based on his incredibly busy schedule over the past few years. Djokovic cut ties with Boris Becker in December following a poor season but this definitely wasn’t the start he had in mind for 2017. The match lasted four hours and 50 minutes with Djokovic eventually faltering much sooner than anybody would have expected heading in to the tournament.
Marin Cilic Upset By Dan Evans
One round after Djokovic was upset, Cilic was sent home packing as well following a disappointing exit at the hands of Dan Evans. The world No. 7 fell 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 in another unexpected collapse in the first week of the tournament. The story was that much more intriguing after Evans was recently cut by Nike and wound up wearing a $25 shirt in the event since he wasn’t going to wear any of the gear that he had brought with him. The 26-year-old Evans quickly stole the attention of the crowd and had them on their feet by the time he was done taking down Cilic. While Evans has hsown flashes of his potential in the past nobody would have expected him to take down Cilic in the fashion he did as the second biggest surprise of the week. The remaining top 10 seeds are still alive but with Djokovic and Cilic out the draw is now wide open on the men’s side.
Andy Murray Upset By Mischa Zverev
Although the Djokovic loss sent shockwaves through the landscape, that proved to be a mild upset in comparison to what was coming later on in the week. No. 1 seed Andy Murray, who looked like he’d be a shoe-in to win the Australian Open with Djokovic out of the way, fell to the older of the Zverev brothers on Saturday night. Murray was completely out of sorts as he consistently failed to hit winners or hold his serve.
Things seemed to turn for him in the first set when he was up a break and was serving out the set. Zverev didn’t give up, though, and ended up tying things up at five games before pulling out the set 7-5.
Zverev’s game was supposed to be a great fit for Murray as Zverev serves and volleys almost every single time. But Murray’s winners were going astray all day and as the unforced errors and breaks piled up, he seemed to wilt in the sun. Murray shockingly only took one set from the journeyman, Zverev, and ended up bowing out of the Australian Open much earlier than anyone imagined. That’s paved the way for Roger Federer to make a splash in the second week.
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