Australian Open: Djokovic defeated De Minaur going into quarterfinal

• Novak Djokovic defeated local favourite Alex De Minaur in straight sets.
• He has won 25 straight games at the Australian Open.
• Serb will play Andrey Rublev in a thrilling five-set encounter.

Assuaging his concerns about his physical condition, Novak Djokovic easily defeated local favourite Alex De Minaur in straight sets to go to the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday.

At the Rod Laver Arena, the former world No. 1 defeated the Australian with ease in a commanding performance, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. The fifth seed, Andrey Rublev, who survived two match chances to defeat Holger Rune in a thrilling five-set encounter, will play the Serb next.

Djokovic dominated their first ATP head-to-head match from the opening shot. He quickly won the opening set in just 36 minutes by striking his groundstrokes with easy power and depth, forcing the hometown favourite into mistakes.

Now that he has won 25 straight games at the Australian Open, Djokovic has matched his longest winning streak at the hard-court championship. 2018’s Hyeon Chung was the opponent in whom he last lost at the competition.

The fourth seed kept timing the ball well after winning the first game. Djokovic put on his greatest performance of the fortnight, hammering his backhand down the line with tremendous impact and repeatedly finding a variety of angles to force De Minaur wide to win after two hours and seven minutes.

If he wins the title, Djokovic would have won a record-tying 22 Grand Slam medals and retake the top spot in the ATP Rankings. The 35-year-old has won the Australian Open trophy a record nine times at Melbourne Park, where he has played his finest tennis of his whole career.

With just one set lost en route to the fourth round, world No. 24 De Minaur was hoping to go to the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time. Rafael Nadal was upset by the 23-year-old at the United Cup earlier this month.

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