MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic cruised to a brutal 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Adrian Mannarino on Sunday to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals and equal Roger Federer's all-time Grand Slam record. is.
In a rare daytime appearance at Rod Laver Arena, the 10-time Australian Open champion hit 31 winners and cruised to victory in 1 hour 44 minutes, matching Federer's record for 58th time in a major tournament. advanced to the top eight.
Djokovic has reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the 14th time, making him second all-time behind Rafael Nadal and John Newcombe. The difference is that he converted most of his quarter-final runs into titles at Melbourne Park.
Next up is world No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who defeated runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time. Compete against. Last year here.
“I think I served well throughout the match, and that helped me stay in shape,” Fritz said after his first win over a top-10 player in a major. “And I feel like at the last minute, when I really needed to, I stepped up and started playing my best tennis right up until the end.”
After struggling in the first two rounds, Djokovic believes he is starting to come into his own.
“The first two sets were some of the best I've played in a while,” said Djokovic, who is aiming for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam singles title. “He played great from the first point to the last point.”
He added jokingly: “I really wanted to lose that match in the third set because the tension in the stadium was high.
Mannarino, 35, had won five sets in all three previous rounds. After missing a break point in the opening round, he rarely threatened Djokovic.
The Frenchman avoided the so-called triple bagel (there were only five Grand Slam matches won 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 in the British Open era), but postponed the inevitable. I just did it.
Djokovic admitted he felt unwell during recent rounds, but said his health was improving.
“The last few days have been really good,” he said. “I'm heading in the right direction, both health-wise and tennis-wise.”
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and US Open champion Coco Gauff advanced to the women's quarterfinals with overwhelming victories.
World No. 2 Sabalenka, who won her first Grand Slam title here last year, defeated Amanada Anisimova 6-3, 6-2. Gauff made her first major appearance at the US Open in September, defeating Magdalena Fletch 6-1, 6-2.
Anisimova had won four of their previous five meetings, but this time she had no answers to counter the power of the Belarusian, who hit 18 winners.
“I'm very happy with the level and happy to win. She's a tough opponent,” Sabalenka said. “I love the atmosphere here and I love playing in front of you guys. I really want to stay as long as possible and hopefully we can accomplish this again.”
Trailing 4-1 in the first set, a brief rain delay halted Sabalenka's momentum, but she quickly recovered and pulled away in the second set.
She will face either 16-year-old Mila Andreeva or ninth-placed Barbora Krejcikova in the last eight.
