Defending champion Novak Djokovic continued his fine form in Melbourne, when he defeated Tatsuma Ito 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to earn his 70th career Australian Open win and advance to the third round.
The seven-time Melbourne Park titlist needed just 95 minutes to beat the Japanese wildcard at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.
Djokovic capitalised on five of his nine break point chances, having denied his opponent a single break point opportunity.
The Serbian star won 93 per cent of points on his first-serve (43/46) and was 6/7 on net approaches.
”He was playing pretty aggressive and flat, with not too many unforced errors in the second set. I just managed to somehow find my way,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “My serve helped me a lot to get out of trouble. I knew shots would come quick and flat, so I had to be quite low and put some variety on the shots, spins, slices, and come to the net on occasion. It worked well.”
Match statistics: aces (16-9), double faults (5-1), winners (31-18), unforced errors (17-29), total points won (88-53).
For a place in the last 16, Novak will face another Japanese, after Yoshihito Nishioka (ATP #71) eliminated no.30 seed Dan Evans in straight sets.
It will be their second career meeting, Djokovic won their only previous encounter 6-1, 6-2.
Photo: AP
