Melbourne [Australia], January 19 : Top seed Novak Djokovic on Friday with his high-class and all-around display inside Rod Laver Arena eased past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(2) in the third round of men's singles event at the Australian Open 2024.
It took the top seed and ten-time champion two hours and twenty-eight minutes to win the third set tie-break, breaking some late resistance from Etcheverry.
He did not face a break point during the match. This was his 100th Australian Open match. The 24-time Grand Slam champion will face 20th seed Adrian Mannarino at the hard-court major in the fourth round. Mannarino registered a win in five thrilling sets against Ben Shelton to move into the fourth round, 7-6(4) 1-6 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4.
"It was a great match, I think. The best performance I had during this tournament. Obviously I'm pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets," Djokovic said in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP.
"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," the Serbian added.
In his previous two rounds in Melbourne, Djokovic had to overcome Dino Prizmic and Alexei Popyrin in four sets and with a lot of perseverance. However, the 36-year-old handled a potentially difficult opponent the 30th-seeded Etcheverry with ease.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion found constant angles to keep his opponent moving while hitting the ball cleanly from a distance. The Serbian struck with speed and depth that week, focusing especially on Etcheverry's backhand to control rallies.
In the first two sets, Djokovic broke three times. To win the third set, he played a remarkably controlled tie-break match. Throughout the match, the Serbian served with accuracy, winning 86 per cent of the games with his opening serve.
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