Novak Djokovic dominates Alex de Miñaur to reach Australian Open quarterfinals
Serbia's Novak Djokovic continues his journey towards the title by defeating local player Alex de Miñaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Without the physical discomfort of previous rounds, Serbian player Novak Djokovic displayed a tennis lesson and progressed to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open facing young local idol Alex de Miñaur, who could only win five games.
In front of a mostly hostile audience at Rod Laver Arena, the court where he has won this Grand Slam nine times, the 35-year-old Serbian player only needed 2 hours and 6 minutes to defeat the last Australian player in the men's draw with a score of 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Disappointingly for the spectators, the young tennis player with a Uruguayan father and Spanish mother could barely handle Djokovic's array of shots. Djokovic stated that he "didn't feel anything" from the injury in his left thigh that limited him in previous rounds.
"I don't want to celebrate too early because I felt good in the first match and not so much in the second," said Nole, currently ranked number five in the world.
"Things can change very quickly," but "today was the best day of the tournament so far," he assured.
De Miñaur (No. 24), who had stated he was "ready for the battle" before the match, admitted afterwards that he was faced with "a very good opponent with a very high level."
"I think what I experienced today is probably Novak very close to his best version. For me, if this is the level, I think he will definitely win the title," he said.
After a few warm-up rallies, the winner of 21 Grand Slam titles shifted gears towards his 25th consecutive victory in Melbourne and took the first set with four consecutive games where De Miñaur only managed to win four points.
The Australian player, who grew up between Sydney and Alicante, offered more resistance in the second set but conceded five games before opening his account in the set with a direct serve that was celebrated with excitement by the local crowd.
After stretching his injured leg between sets, Djokovic didn't waver in his effort to finish the task as soon as possible and once again won four consecutive games, dismissing any remote chance of a comeback.
De Miñaur, who had recently achieved prestigious victories against Spanish player Rafael Nadal and Russian player Daniil Medvedev, could only scrape together two games before surrendering to the Serbian.
"I really wanted to win in three sets, you never know what's going to happen on the court," said Nole, who was cheered on the court after playing, in his words, "the best match of the year." AFP
