World no.1 Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarter-finals at the Western & Southern Open after a masterclass performance against qualifier Pablo Carreno Busta on Thursday night.
Novak, who became the first singles player to achieve Career Golden Masters by claiming the 2018 Cincinnati title, captured a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the Spaniard in one hour and 30 minutes.
One break of serve in each set was enough for the top seed to defeat his rival and improve to a 37-6 W/L record on the season.
The 32-year-old Serbian star saved all four break points he faced during the clash and was 12/14 on net approaches.
“I’m very pleased with the performance today because I played against a very good, quality player tonight. It’s a straight-sets win, but probably the score doesn’t indicate how tough it was on the court,” Djokovic said. “Overall, it was a really, really good match.”
Match statistics: aces (8-0), double faults (0-2), winners (30-15), unforced errors (22-17), total points won (70-54).
Novak will next face Lucas Pouille (ATP #31), whom he beat in the semi-final of the Australian Open in January (6-0, 6-2, 6-2).
The Frenchman upset eighth seed Karen Khachanov in three sets, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2.
Photo: Profimedia
