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E-mail Xinhua, January 22, 2024
Men's top seed Novak Djokovic was in vintage form on Sunday as he swept aside Adrian Mannarino of France to storm into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, while Aryna Sabalenka continued her effortless march towards a title defence.
Novak Djokovic (R) of Serbia greets Adrian Mannarino of France after the men's singles 4th round match at Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 21, 2024. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
36-year-old Djokovic underlined his status as a strong favorite to win a record-extending 11th title at Melbourne Park by remarkably claiming the first 13 games of the match en route to a 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 fourth round victory.
Djokovic, playing in his 73rd major tournament, is now tied with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam quarterfinals with 58. Having battled illness and played sluggishly at times earlier in the tournament, Djokovic is ramping up as he eyes a record 25th Grand Slam title.
"The first two sets [were some] of the best sets I've played in a while," Djokovic said. "I served very well. In the moments when I needed to come up with the first serve, I did."
"The last couple of days have been really good so it's going in a positive direction health-wise, tennis-wise, so I'm really happy. I played great, from the first to the last point."
Djokovic now faces American 12th seed Taylor Fritz, who overcame No.7 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in three hours. Fritz relied on his powerful serve to clinch his first victory over a top 10 opponent at Grand Slams.
"I trusted my shots a lot. I served well the whole match," Fritz said. "It kept me in it as there were some games he was in that I could get out of with my serve."
Fritz faces a daunting task against Djokovic having lost all eight career meetings against the world No.1. "The times I have played him I haven't brought my best level and you need to if you are going to compete with someone like Djokovic," he said.
It was a bitter disappointment for Tsitsipas, who was last year's tournament finalist and will have to wait longer to break his Grand Slam title drought.
No.4 Jannik Sinner beat Karen Khachanov in straight sets, while fifth seed Andrey Rublev came from behind to down Australian 10th seed Alex de Minaur in five sets.
In the women's draw, second seed Sabalenka won her fourth straight match convincingly by powering past unseeded American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-2 in 70 minutes.
"I think I feel stronger than last year. So far I feel good. Hopefully I just can keep it up," said the 25-year-old Sabalenka, who has won 11 straight matches in Melbourne.
Sabalenka will meet ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals.
American fourth seed Coco Gauff looms as Sabalenka's biggest challenger in what has been a volatile women's draw filled with upsets.
The US Open champion eased past Poland's Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-2 to set up a clash with first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.
"It's cool to get over that hump. Hopefully I can keep going for more," said Gauff, who has reached the last eight for the first time at Melbourne Park.
Meanwhile, China's Zhang Zhizhen and Tomas Machac stunned third seeds and former champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in a comeback 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory in one hour and 36 minutes.
The unseeded pairing of Zhang and Machac claimed a huge upset over doubles specialists Ram of the U.S. and Britain's Salisbury, who have won the last three US Open men's doubles titles and they also triumphed at Melbourne Park in 2020.
Men's second seed Carlos Alcaraz and No.3 Daniil Medvedev highlight fourth round action on Monday, while women's 12th seed Zheng Qinwen of China plays Frenchwoman Oceane Dodin.
