Top seed Novak Djokovic stormed into the Australian Open third round as he defeated American Ryan Harrison 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday evening.
Novak dropped just 6 games and didn’t face a single break point in a 91-minute clash. He won 85 percent of his first serve points, and 87 percent of points on second serve.
The two-time defending champion took 12 of the first 13 points of the match. He broke Harrison in the second and sixth games and wrapped up the opening set 6-1 in just 20 minutes.
Djokovic raced to a two sets to love lead with a double break.
Harrison was broken again in the opening game of the third set. Novak put the young American’s service under pressure once more in the ninth game and sealed a straight sets victory on his second match point.
“I went with that kind of focused mindset on the court, just trying to play as sharp as possible. I knew that he had nothing to lose and would come out with his big serves, but I managed to make some very important early breaks at the start of the match,” the five-time Grand Slam winner said. “I was a set up after 20 minutes and it was a mental advantage, I felt much more comfortable on the court. I don’t think he was playing at his best, it was probably the occasion playing on the centre court, but I wish him all the best, I think he has a good future.”
“You’re trying to perform your best in every match that you play on. This was definitely a better performance than the first round. I managed to play in a very high level already in the second round, which is very encouraging for the next challenge.”
Match statistics: aces (7-6), double faults (0-3), winners (37-17), unforced errors (16-28), total points won (94-52).
The 25-year-old Djokovic goes on to face no.31 seed Radek Stepanek on Friday about 14.30 local time (04.30 CET), after the Czech beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez
6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
Novak has won seven of their eight career meetings, the most recent in R3 of 2012 Wimbledon, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Photo: Getty Images
