It was another awkward exit for Novak Djokovic on a day in which he achieved yet another record, but in the end it was sealed with a kiss, directed at his new coach Andy Murray.
No one, man or woman, has played more in Grand Slams than Djokovic, and this 430th match leaves him far behind his old rival Roger Federer.
Another old rival is now in their corner and this was a tough match for the new duo as Djokovic was taken to four sets for the second round in a row.
First it was the American Nishesh Basavareddy, 19, and on Wednesday, the Portuguese Jaime Faria, 21, two young men with nothing to lose who demonstrated fearless brilliance.
Once again, the ten-time champion was well below his best, but he did enough, winning 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. And then he quoted No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev as saying: “In the wise words of Mr. Medvedev: If the future generation plays this way, they will have it all.” Money, girls, casino.
It was a lot of fun in the end, but the 37-year-old was unhappy for much of this match, as from a set and a break down he found himself in real trouble.
Novak Djokovic is still finding his feet under new coach Andy Murray, but sealed his eventual second-round victory with a kiss in the direction of his old rival.
In Djokovic's corner, Murray has been urged to speak out in their burgeoning partnership.
The series champion was able to overcome Jaime Faria, 21, but it took him four long sets.
Towards the end of the second set, on a gloomy day in Melbourne, the lights came on. Djokovic didn't like that and asked referee Marija Cicak to turn them off, which she did. He complained again when a spectator screamed in the middle of one point, and even became upset by a baby's prolonged crying.
So there was a lot going on, but Djokovic's main problems were on the court.
He said that after the Basavareddy match he felt he was too passive from the back of the court and that was certainly the case against Faria.
At times he did little more than drop the ball and allow Faria to do pretty much whatever he wanted. Djokovic was never able to apply pressure with his groundstrokes, so Faria was able to simply work his way to a point and choose the moment to unleash his power.
Faria disappeared to change clothes after winning the second set tiebreaker, giving Djokovic the chance to have a long chat with Murray.
But in the next game, the first of the third set, Djokovic sent gestures towards Murray as if to say 'What can I do?' while his opponent criticized a couple of winners.
When Djokovic tried to strike, throw his opponent out of his rhythm and take control of the baseline, he failed more often than not.
He attempted a shot in what appeared to be desperation and walked off the court with a look of disgust.
The ATP veteran seemed at times desperate and without answers in the middle of the clash
Djokovic was unable to pressure Faria in the opening sets of the contest.
The Portuguese player showed his best level against Djokovic, but failed due to lack of experience as the match progressed.
At the beginning of a service game he said, “Andy” and asked his coach something, maybe where he should direct his serve. That small interaction caused him to miss the shot clock and receive a time violation warning.
Similar to his first round against rookie Basavareddy, it seemed as if Djokovic could do little more than dig deeper and wait for some signs of deterioration in his younger opponent.
Faria's physical deterioration was not as sudden as that of Basavarredy, who suffered severe cramps, but as the third set progressed he was not throwing wide balls as explosively or chasing them as hard.
As is his custom, Djokovic's level rose while his opponent's fell. He began to open his shoulders a little more and in the first key game of the fourth set there was a sublime backhand down the line.
When he got a break in that game, Coach Murray felt relaxed enough to exchange a joke and a smile with another member of Djokovic's team; However, not for long, the iron mask fell as soon as his player was ready to serve.
Djokovic is qualified, but needs to significantly improve his level if he wants to seriously fight for an 11th title here. Tomas Machac, seeded number 26, is his next opponent and that will be a big step forward after two talented but inexperienced youngsters.
And the enormous figure of Carlos Alcaraz looms, not so far away now in a possible quarterfinal. Djokovic has two matches in which to find some form; So far we have seen very little to suggest that he is willing to bother the Spaniard. But Murray won't look that far ahead. With the way his man has fought so far, he can't afford to do that.