Australian Open: Novak Djokovic sinks Denis Shapovalov to reach R16
The six-time Australian Open champion and the world no. 1 Novak Djokovic is safely through to the last 16 at Melbourne Park after a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 triumph over Denis Shapovalov in two hours and 22 minutes. Djokovic secured his 261st Grand Slam win and he will play in the fourth round here for the 12th time in the last 13 years, staying on a course for the record-breaking seventh crown despite a little bit shaky performance in the third set when he lost five games in a row. The Serb made a massive difference with his second serve, suffering three breaks of serve but compensating that with a dominant display on the return, stealing Denis' serve eight times to control the scoreboard almost all the time.
It wasn't the best performance we could have seen from Djokovic, though, hitting 16 winners and more than 30 unforced errors but still doing enough to overpower a teenager who counted to almost 60 unforced mistakes, 20 in the first set alone. Djokovic's groundstrokes and the court coverage proved too tough to handle for the Canadian who will have to work a lot to find the way how to impose his shots against such a strong rival and defend his position in more extended rallies. Novak was off to a great start, breaking Denis at 15 in the third game after a poor forehand from the Canadian and cementing the lead with a comfortable hold for a 3-1 after just 12 minutes.
A loose backhand cost Denis another break in game five, struggling to find the zone or the range of his groundstrokes before he pulled one break back a few minutes later when he forced a backhand error from Djokovic. Still, the Serb recovered instantly and the set was in his hands following another break at 5-3 when Shapovalov netted an easy forehand. After almost 20 unforced errors in the opening set, Shapovalov started to control his strokes better in set number two, opening the space with lefty serve and staying in touch with Novak in the first nine games, with no deuces or break points on either side. Djokovic stayed focused, though, breaking Denis in the 10th game to secure the set and mover closer to the finish line.
In the break between the sets, Novak had a conversation with an umpire about lights that were turned on on the Rod Laver Arena although that couldn't disturb his rhythm, breaking Shapovalov at love in the third game of the third set to open a substantial 4-1 lead that he only had to bring home. Instead of that, Shapovalov bounced back to rattle off five straight games and steal the set 6-4, leaving Novak frustrated about the downfall in his game and also with somebody in the crowd. The Serb left the court and he looked determined to keep the last 25 minutes behind him, demolishing the young rival in set number four to secure the place in the last 16.
Third round result:
[1]Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [25]Denis Shapovalov (CAN) 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-0
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2ASGtL3
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