“First of all I feel sorry for Novak. I was playing so good today,” Istomin said on court. “I mean, I surprised myself also today. I want to thank my team ... who do a good job. Amazing. So much emotion on my mind so I cannot hold it you know but I want to say thanks very much for coming to support me.”

“It’s unreal,” Istomin said. “For me, it was impossible to think that I can hold it five sets with Novak, physically and mentally. So I did well today.” “It means so much for me to beat the world No. 2,” he said.

Novak Djokovic said: “All credit to Denis for playing amazing. He deserved to win.”

“I’m not used to losing in the Australian Open second round,” he added. “I’ve always played so well. I’ve won six titles here. This court has been so nice to me. I enjoyed it very much. Of course, it’s disappointing. But at the end of the day I have to accept it.”

Wildcard Denis Istomin, the world No.117, defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets with the score 7-6(8) 5-7 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4.