In a rare daytime appearance at the Australian Open on Sunday, veteran Serbian star Novak Djokovic achieved a crushing victory in straight sets, defeating French competitor Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the season's first major tournament. This victory brings him a step closer to winning the major title for the 11th time, further extending his unprecedented record.
For the first time since 2021, Djokovic played his match at Melbourne Park at an early time. The defending champion had previously complained of a viral infection and showed signs of illness, appearing to struggle to breathe at times during today's match. Nonetheless, his health issues did not affect the performance of the world number one, achieving his 32nd consecutive victory at the event and qualifying for the quarterfinals of Grand Slam tournaments for the 58th time, matching the historic record set by Swiss legend Roger Federer.
Djokovic aims for his 25th major title in his career. After the match, he remarked, "The way I played today... honestly, I don't mind playing during the day. It’s no secret that I prefer playing at 7 PM. But it wasn’t too bad today."
Mannarino, ranked 19th in the world, plays left-handed and can pose a threat to top competitors by focusing on angles. Indeed, Djokovic faced difficulties in the first game but quickly took the lead in the first set after 33 minutes. He let out a loud cheer after breaking Mannarino's serve early in the second set and successfully held his serve in the third game after six deuce points.
After failing to win any points in the first two sets, Mannarino managed to win the first game at the start of the third set, leveling at 1-1 and avoiding a rare defeat in straight sets of 6-0. He smiled as the crowd encouraged him.
Djokovic then quickly secured the win, stating he delivered one of his best performances. The Serbian star added, "After winning the first two sets in one of the best matches I have played in a long time, I genuinely wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension on the court was rising. I wanted to focus on what I wanted to achieve to close out the match. I performed great from start to finish."
In the quarterfinals, Djokovic will face American Taylor Fritz, noting that it is not new for him to gradually improve his performance as the tournament progresses. He remarked to reporters, "This isn’t the first time I've faced these circumstances where I started the tournament slowly, then my level gradually improved as the tournament went on."
The Serbian player won the title at Melbourne Park last season despite suffering a hamstring tear while preparing for the tournament. He concluded, "Today was the best day in terms of tennis, and the way I left the court. I’m truly excited to play in the second week of the tournament. I look forward to the upcoming battles against higher-ranked competitors. There are no easy matches."
