Novak Djokovic returned to his imperious best with a straight-sets win a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (2) over 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry to move into the Australian Open last 16.
At no time did the Serb face a break point.
Ten-time Australian Open winner Djokovic admitted to not being at his best until now, having dropped sets in both of his opening matches
The 24-time major winner stands 92-8 at The Australian Open and is on a 31-match winning streak in his 100th match at the Australian Open.
Only Roger Federer with 117 starts and Serena Williams with 105 have played more at the first Grand Slam of the year.
“It was a great match,” Djokovic said. “The best performance I had during this tournament. I’m pleased with he way I played, particularly the first two sets.
“He (Etcheverry) raised his level in the third set (and) we went toe-to-toe.”
After his on court interview with legendary player and coach Wally Masur, Novak wrote on the camera leaving a powerful message to all his followers, especially Serbs
“God appeared (Bog se javi),” Novak wrote in Cyrillic next to his signature. This is the traditional Serbian greeting said during the Christian holiday of Epiphany,celebrated today by Orthodox Serbs.
In the next round Djokovic will play Adrian Mannarino who beat Ben Shelton in five sets.
