Ten-time Novak Djokovic overcame a hesitant start on Monday against the unseeded American Nishesh Basavareddy to advance to the second round at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Djokovic, 38, who is bidding to hoist a record-extending 25th Grand Slam singles trophy at Melbourne Park, was expected to sweep through the match against the 19-year-old.

But the Serb found himself under the cosh. Basavareddy, who was making his debut in the main draw at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, dealt with his nerves and rapidly deployed the range of shots that took him to the semi-finals at the Auckland International last week.

He claimed the opener in 49 minutes and held firm throughout the second. But with two points to level at 4-4, he faltered. Overcome by cramp, Basavareddy lost four consecutive points to give Djokovic the break and a 5-3 lead.

From there, the veteran took control. Djokovic held serve to level the match at one set apiece and broke Basavareddy early in the third set to maintain his grip. It was all over in four sets in just under three hours.

"He was the better player for the first set and a half," Djokovic conceded. "I'd never seen him play up until three or four days ago. He"s a complete player and I was pleasantly surprised at some of the shots.

"It's not easy coming out on centre court for your first match at a Grand Slam tournament but he handled himself very well and if he continues to do that I am sure we will see a lot more of him in the future."

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