Superb performance from Nole in his 100th match in Melbourne.
Top seed Novak Djokovic dismissed no.30 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in straight sets on Friday at the Australian Open.
The Serbian star reached the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (2) win in two hours and 28 minutes.
Novak controlled the match against the Argentine in Rod Laver Arena, breaking him three times from seven opportunities.
He won 86% of his first serve points, was 17/20 on net approaches (85%), and has not faced a single break point during the third career encounter against Etcheverry.
“It was a great match, I think. The best performance I had during this tournament,” said Djokovic. “I’m pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets. He stepped it up, raised his level of tennis probably one or two levels in the third set and we went toe-to-toe. In the tie-break I guess I just found the right shots, the right serves, and closed it out in straights.”
Match statistics: aces (10-13), double faults (0-1), winners (34-22), unforced errors (35-29), total points won (104-80).
For a place in the quarter-finals, Novak will face no.20 seed Adrian Mannarino of France who advanced to the last 16 after beating 16th-seeded American Ben Shelton in five sets 7-6, 1-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Photo: AP
