The Serbian Novak Djokovic (1) recovered his best level after beating the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (20) 6-0, 6-0 and 6-1 (one hour and 44 minutes) in the round of 16 of the Australian Open.
The Balkan surpassed the Australian Roy Emerson to reach second position on the list of tennis players who have won the most sets 6-0 in major competition.
"The first sets were one of the best I have played in a long time. I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because I felt a lot of tension in the stadium and that way I could concentrate again," commented the current champion in the interview. awarded on the track to the American Jim Courier.
Djokovic has 48 and came close to the American Andre Agassi who leads this classification with 50 'roscos'.
The Serbian equaled with fourteen appearances the Spanish Rafael Nadal and the Australian John Newcombe in the second position of tennis players with the most appearances in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, on a list led by the Swiss Roger Federer with 15.
He also tied the Swiss Roger Federer, who occupied first position with 58 appearances in the quarterfinals of slam tournaments.
His next opponent in the quarterfinals will be known after the conclusion of the clash between the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) and the American Taylor Fritz (12).
"I hope they reach the fifth and that the match lasts six hours, with several interruptions due to rain and the power going out. No, I'm kidding. It will be a very tough match against either of the two," said Djokovic after playing for the first time. a match at Melbourne Park on the day shift, after that second round in the 2021 edition against the American Frances Tiafoe.
His biggest slam defeats were against Nicolás Massú (6-1, 6-1 and 6-0) in Australia in 2007, Carlos Berlocq (6-0, 6-0 and 6-2) in the United States in 2011, Paolo Lorenzi (6-2, 6-0 and 6-0) in Australia in 2012, Nicolas Mahut (6-2, 6-0 and 6-0) in Australia and Paolo Lorenzi (6-1, 6-0 and 6 -1) in the United States in 2012.
Djokovic finished the match with 31 winners and 15 unforced errors that contrasted with the Frenchman's 12 and 31.
"Today I served very well. In the necessary moments I was able to execute a great serve," he commented after scoring 82% of the points with firsts.
One of the images of the match was the gesture that Mannarino gave to his bench after the conclusion of the second set, when he put his fingers as if they were glasses on his face that brought a smile, despite the adverse situation.
