AUS Open: Novak powers into quarter-final with Alcaraz!

Nole arrange an Australian Open quarter-final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz, surging previous difficult seeded opponent from the Czech Republic.

24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic delivered one other masterclass in Melbourne on Sunday to beat Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in two hours and 39 minutes.

It was a superb take a look at for Novak, who brushed previous the twenty fourth seed breaking him thrice from 11 alternatives inside Rod Laver Enviornment.

Djokovic performed with nice depth, his motion was distinctive and he was in management all through the second profession encounter with the Czech. He gained 81 per cent of factors behind his first serve and was 16/18 when approaching the web (89%).

The file 10-time titlist at Melbourne Park broke as soon as in every set and misplaced his serve as soon as.

Match statistics: aces (September 11), double faults (3-4), winners (27-39), unforced errors (21-44), complete factors gained (108-90).

“I felt nice,” stated Djokovic. “A few hiccups right here and there, a unfastened sport after I broke his serve within the third. After that I had possibilities to interrupt him, however each time I had a possibility to interrupt him, he would serve large. Simply very highly effective and exact. A distinct opponent in comparison with my final spherical rival, however there have been fairly a number of similarities, with a flat backhand and fairly an aggressive type. I dealt with the stress moments nicely and performed some nice factors in the direction of the top of the match.”

A blockbuster quarter-final conflict with Carlos Alcaraz (ESP, 3) will happen on Tuesday.

Alcaraz led Jack Draper 7-5, 6-1 when the Brit retired from their fourth spherical conflict.

Novak leads Alcaraz 4-3 within the pair’s ATP H2H collection. The Serbian star triumphed of their final assembly within the Olympic Video games closing in Paris final summer time, when he claimed an emotional first gold medal.

Picture: Profimedia