Novak Djokovic faced a daytime match at the Australian Open for the first time in three years, with the Serb producing a storming victory despite competing in an unfamiliar hour on Sunday.
The 10-time champion delivered one of the most comprehensive victories of his career as he crushed France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 winning the first 13 games of a one-way fourth-rounder played under the closed roof of the Laver arena.
Mannarino, aged 35 to Djokovic’s 36, normally does not look at the name of his upcoming opponent until an hour or so prior to a match.
But he likely would have realised the ugly truth once he saw it would be Djokovic across the net, with the Serb now holding a 5-0 record in the series after his latest victory.
Djokovic proved relentless as he seized control of the contest from the start and barely gave the Frenchman a look-in.
The Serb moved into a 58th Grand Slam quarter-final, equalling the all-time record of Roger Federer.
Mannarino breathed a small sigh of relief after leveling the third set at 1-all after dropping each of the first two to love. He added two more in the third set but could do little against the Djokovic juggernaut.
The Serb fired 17 aces among his 23 winners while breaking seven times.
He said that after running off his string of early games, finally losing one was something of a relief.
“I wanted to lose that game in the third set, the tension was building. After that I could go back to focusing on closing out the match.
“I played great from first point to last. he is a very unorthodox player, he used the angles well and has a consistent backhand.
“It’s cat and mouse against him; I had to endure long rallies and run him around the court.
“It was a great performance.”
After playing for four hours in the first round, Djokovic signed off after less than two as he dispatched Mannarino.
The 10-time Melbourne champion next takes on Taylor Fritz for a place in the semi-finals after the American prevented a re-run of last year’s final won by Djokovic.
Fritz accounted for sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, earning the first Top 10 win of his career at a Grand Slam after losing 11 times previously to the elite
The Greek is now flirting with a drop form the ranking Top 10 for the fist time since February, 2019.
Fritz won with 13 aces aces after three hours of struggle.
“I trusted my shots a lot. I served well the whole match,” the winner said,
“At the end when I really needed it, I turned it up a level and played some of my best tennis to finish it.”
Fritz will have a tough ask to try and earn his first semi-final at a major while facing Djokovic.
“The last three games of the match I really, really turned it on, almost like was in a trance,” the winner said.
“I felt like I knew exactly what shot to hit, the right decision to make on every ball.
Tsitsipas said he will analyse – and not pout – over his defeat.
“It’s (losing’s) not a negative feeling, it’s a feeling of evolution, of change. 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.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had that feeling, so it gives me a lot of confidence.”
Fritz managed 50 winners to his opponent’s 41.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner maintained a clean slate as the major goes over the halfway point, with the Italian punishing 2023 semi-finalist Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
Sinner has won all four of his matches in straight sets.
“We’ve had tough matches, he’s an incredible player,” Sinner said. “I tried to stay mentally and physically strong.
“Every match has its own story: today I won, so I’m very happy.
“We both have similar styles, which makes it tough to play. We both hit flat, so it can be a bit like ping-pong.”
