Novak continues his imposing march through the draw at the Australian Open.
The Serbian top seed raced into the last eight in Melbourne with a 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 win on Sunday. Djokovic needed only one hour and 45 minutes to dispatch the 20th seed Adrian Mannarino.
It was an outstanding performance from the defending champion, who had broken his rival’s serve three times in the first and second sets, before the Frenchman managed to hold for the first time in the match. The final icing on the cake came in the fourth game of the third set, and the triumph was sealed five games later.
Djokovic converted seven of 11 break point chances, and saved all three break points he faced during the fifth career meeting against Mannarino (5-0 H2H record).
“The first two sets were some of the best sets I’ve played in a while,” Nole said before cracking a joke. “I really wanted to lose that game in the third set, because the tension was building up so much in the stadium. I just needed to get that one out of the way so I can refocus on what I needed to do to close out the match. I played great, from the first to the last point.”
Match statistics: aces (17-1), double faults (5-0), winners (31-12), unforced errors (15-31), total points won (85-42).
Novak next plays no.12 seed Taylor Fritz who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE, 7) in four sets 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
The Belgrade native has won all eight previous encounters against the American.
Photo: Profimedia
