MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic steamrolled local hope Alex de Minaur 6-2 6-1 6-2 on Monday to ease into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a statement win in his quest for a 10th title at the Grand Slam that has only been threatened by a hamstring issue.
It was Djokovic’s 38th consecutive win on Australian soil and the fewest number of games he has dropped in a match at the year’s first major since he lost four against Lucas Pouille in the semi-finals in 2019.
Asked after the match why he beat De Minaur the way he did, Djokovic replied: “Because I wanted to.”
Djokovic drew first blood after a breathless start to the match when De Minaur crashed a forehand into the net to allow the fourth seed to go up 4-2 and the Serbian consolidated the break and struck again to claim the first set.
Having never lost at Melbourne Park since the fourth round in 2018 the 35-year-old was in no mood to give De Minaur a sniff of a chance on Rod Laver Arena, as he raced out of the blocks and dominated his opponent with blistering shots on both wings.
“I can’t say I’m sorry you’ve not watched a longer match,” Djokovic told fans.
“I wanted to win in straight sets. Once on the court, you have to deal with a lot of things… the first four, five games were close and after the break I started feeling more loose and more aggressive.
“He was a bit more nervous and that was my opportunity to capitalize. Tennis is a quick, dynamic sport, so things change in a matter of moments, but I was able to play my best match of the year.”
