Djokovic thumps king of clay Nadal to enter third round
The two greats of the racquet game, both in the evening of their fabulous journey in tennis, have fought many a pitched battle between themselves in their glittering careers.
Defending champions Novak Djokovic eased past Diego Schwartzman in straight sets in the fourth round of the men’s singles event at the ongoing Australian Open.
Djokovic defeated his 14th seed opponents 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday to book a quarterfinal clash with Milos Raonic. With the victory, he also extended his unbeaten streak (4-0) against Schwartzman in ATP Head2Head.
The seven-time Australian Open champion’s serving stats are not similarly rampant from his third-round match where he defeated Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. There was hardly any difference between him and Schwartzman in the opening set.
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But Djokovic stepped up and broke Scwartzan to go 5-3 up which set the tone of the match. En route to his victory, he won 75 percent of his first-serve points and converted four of eight break points as he scored 38 winners to play his 11th quarterfinal in Melbourne.
“It’s the fourth round of a Grand Slam and Diego is a quality player. He’s had a terrific tournament in the first three rounds. I knew if I gave him time, he could do a lot of damage. He’s one of the quickest players on the Tour,” the defending Australian Open champion was quoted as saying on the official website of the ATP Tour.
Awaiting the world number two in the next round is 32nd seed Raonic who won 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 against Marin Cilic. Raonic is yet to win a match against the Serbian in nine of their previous ATP encounters.
“A quite different match than the one today. He’s one of the tallest and strongest guys physically on the Tour. He has one of the biggest serves. I’ve got to be ready for missiles coming from his side of the net,” Djokovic said.
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