Novak Djokovic flirted with a rare “triple bagel” as the defending champion swept into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open here on Sunday.
Djokovic, playing in an unfamiliar rare daytime match, blanked Adrian Mannarino in the opening two sets and threatened to become only the sixth player to win 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 in the main draw of a grand slam.
However, the Frenchman salvaged some pride in the third set, leaving Djokovic with a 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 victory, the Serb’s 32nd straight match win at his favourite stomping ground.
It also earned the world No.1 a 58th grand slam quarter final berth, equalling the all-time record of Swiss maestro Roger Federer. Djokovic said he was almost glad when Mannarino got on the board in the third set. “I almost felt like it’s good to give away the game, just to be able to reset and refocus, because the tension was growing as the match progressed without him winning a game,” he told reporters.
“Of course, it’s tough for him, but also for me to be able to not think about that ... I was happy that got that out of the way, 1-1 third set, then focused on what I need to do to close out the match.” The Serb next meets Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic is seeking an 11th Australian Open title and 25th grand slam overall to surpass Margaret Court.
Tsitsipas exits
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he hoped to emerge stronger from his fourth-round defeat by Fritz after the Greek world No.7 suffered his earliest exit in four years at the Melbourne Park grand slam.
The 25-year-old reached the last four in 2019 and lost in the third round the following year, but embarked on two more semi-final runs before losing to 10-time champion Djokovic in last year’s title clash.
Tsitsipas said he would need a few days to reflect and recover from his 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 3-6, 3-6 defeat.
“It’s not a negative feeling,” he told reporters. “It’s a feeling of evolution, of change, which is constant. Change is always constant. One day you’re in the top 10, the other day you’re not there anymore.
“So you have to keep on working and allowing yourself to flourish through these experiences, allow yourself to seek for all these moments that have been working for you over the last few years, give it another shot time after time.”
Tsitsipas, who is yet to win a grand slam, said dealing with setbacks was part of the job.
“There’s way more moments in your career that are painful and tough to deal with, suffering and all that, than moments of glory and success and opening champagne bottles,” he added.
“These are a small percentage of what a tennis player lives on a yearly basis.”
Rublev sails ahead
Andrey Rublev extended his perfect start to the season to 8-0 after overcoming world No. 10 Alex de Minaur and a fiercely patriotic home crowd to win a rollercoaster five-setter.
Rublev snapped a five-match losing streak against top 10 opponents and now will look to convert his 10th grand slam quarter final into his first major semi-final when he meets fourth seed Jannik Sinner. Sinner was far from his best but found a way to come out on top in the key moments as he won 6-4 7-5 6-3 against Karen Khachanov.
Rublev was in danger of crashing out of the year’s first major after losing a dramatic third-set tie-break, but he rebounded by breaking the Australian’s opening service games in the fourth and fifth sets to clinch his 300th match win 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0.
In a critical start to the fifth set, Rublev clubbed four clean winners to silence the Australian crowd. Perhaps concerned about the possible onset of cramps as his legs tired, Rublev unleashed a baseline barrage in the final set to reduce the need to cover his side of the court.
The tactic paid huge dividends, with De Minaur having no answer to the firepower unlike earlier in the match, when his fresher legs and exceptional movement had helped him keep pace with Rublev for the first three sets.
