Novak Djokovic stormed into the fourth round of the Australian Open, beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-2) on Friday in Melbourne.
Djokovic, who had suffered second-set wobbles in each of his prior two wins, had no such drama in overcoming 30th seed Etcheverry, who had defeated Andy Murray in the first round.
The record 24-time Grand Slam winner earned his first break of serve in the sixth game of the match, taking his opponent to deuce and then earning the second of two break opportunities with a terrific drop shot before Etcheverry missed a groundstroke to hand him the game.
Djokovic comfortably served out the set, before then quickly breaking Etcheverry again in the second. With the Argentine, meanwhile, unable to get any sort of opening on the Serb’s serve, he was broken again to see the second set slip away.
Etcheverry made a better fist of things in the third, keeping pace for the first 10 games and then going up 15-30 on Djokovic’s serve. But, again, the defending champion denied him, reeling off the next three points as the set ultimately went to a tie-break.
Djokovic then claimed a 25-shot rally with a devastating forehand winner to open the breaker as he raced ahead 3-0, ultimately setting up four match points up 6-2 and clinching things with an ace.
Sinner and Tsitsipas breeze through into fourth round
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner underlined his title credentials, racing into the second week without dropping a set after a 6-0 6-1 6-3 demolition of Sebastian Baez.
The clean-hitting Italian banged down six aces and 34 winners to see off the Argentine 26th seed in less than two hours, sealing victory with a seventh break of serve.
Sinner’s best run at the Australian Open was a place in the quarter-finals in 2022, and the odds will favour him getting back to the last eight with Karen Khachanov his opponent in the fourth round.
Seventh seed and 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas needed just over two hours to beat Luca Van Assche in straight sets and cruise into the last 16.
The Greek’s 6-3 6-0 6-4 victory secured a fourth-round showdown with 12th seed Taylor Fritz.
Tsitsipas had a 12-1 edge in aces and saved eight of nine break points while converting on six of eight of his own.
Fritz defeated Fabian Morozsan 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam for a fourth time and equal his run in the 2022 Australian Open.
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