January 21, (THEWILL) – World number one Novak Djokovic continued his relentless push towards a record-equalling 25th Grand Slam singles title on Sunday, demolishing 20th seed Adrian Mannarino in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The top seed was in scintillating form under the closed roof of Rod Laver Arena, thrashing his French opponent 6-0 6-0 6-3 in a thoroughly one-sided affair. Mannarino had no answer to Djokovic’s precision groundstrokes and immaculate defence, winning just 12 points across the first two sets.
“I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building up so much in the stadium,” Djokovic joked afterwards. “I just needed to get that out of the way and re-focus.”
With his 32nd consecutive match win at Melbourne Park, the 36-year-old Serb equalled Roger Federer’s record of 58 Grand Slam quarter-final appearances. Djokovic now looks virtually unstoppable in his bid to capture an 11th Australian Open crown.
After two early wobbles, Djokovic has rediscovered his best form this week. “The last couple of days have been really good. It’s going in a positive direction,” he said. Next up is 12th seed Taylor Fritz, who stands between Djokovic and a place in the semi-finals.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
