ATP Australian Open: Novak Djokovic downs Diego Schwartzman to remain on..

World no. 2 Novak Djokovic is through to his 11th Australian Open quarter-final and the 46th at Majors overall, beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and six minutes. After that shaky performance in the first round against Jan-Lennard Struff, Novak has been one of the players to beat in Melbourne, beating three short rivals (Tatsuma Ito and Yoshihito Nishioka in rounds two and three) to find himself in the last eight and putting the pressure back on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Serb couldn't win as many points behind the first serve as in the previous two rounds but it was still enough to allow Schwartzman only one break of serve, rising the pressure on the Argentine who couldn't endure it, despite winning all nine sets in the previous encounters at Melbourne Park this week. Djokovic hit almost 40 winners and 31 unforced errors, delivering four breaks and saving energy for the next rounds against a tough opponent who is never easy to beat.

Taming his shots nicely, Novak didn't face a break point in the opening set, waiting for a chance on the return and seizing it in the eighth game when Diego netted a backhand after two game points missed. Serving at 5-3, Novak held at 30 with a service winner to grab the opener in 38 minutes, opening the second set with a double break and a 3-0 advantage. Losing ground in those moments, Schwartzman suffered the third straight break at 0-2 when his volley found the net, losing six consecutive games before pulling one break back in the fourth game with a backhand winner to end his downfall and get the name on the scoreboard in the second set.

They both served well in the remaining games and Novak closed the set with three winners at 5-4 to take another big step towards the finish line. Returning at 2-2 in set number three, Djokovic clinched a break at love and saved a break chance in the next game to confirm the advantage and move closer to victory. Facing three break opportunities in the seventh game, Diego dug deep to repel them all and remain within one break deficit until the tenth game when Novak held at love with a service winner to move into the next round where he plays against Milos Raonic.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/38GCsrL