Novak Djokovic is already in the round of 16 of the Australian Open. His 100th match at Melbourne Park was not marred by a defeat in the Serbian’s case, but by the gradual recovery of the best tennis version of him. ‘Nole’ defeated Argentine Tomás Etcheverry (30) this Friday 6-3, 6-3 and 7-6(2) in 2 hours and 28 minutes and is going for more.
“It was a great match, my best match so far. The first two sets were at a great level,” explained the Balkan before the Rod Laver audience and who will face each other in the next round with the Frenchman Adrian Manarinno, number 19 in the world ranking, after beating the American Ben Shelton in the third round.
The winner of 24 Grand Slams did not take long to break his rival’s serve to make the score 4-2, which would end up leading to the initial 6-3. In the second set, Etcheverry’s inability to go up to the net or change directions from the backhand side improved Djokovic who did not lower his accuracy with the serve and changed directions at will.
He opened the second set with an early ‘break’ that further sank the conservative proposal of an Etcheverry forged as a tennis player on Argentine clay and, as a consequence, with the patterns of this surface obsolete on the Australian hard court.
The only element that kept the Argentine afloat was a good serve, against a Djokovic who had to maintain his plan, consistent in the background and change to the parallel especially from the backhand, until a 6-3 in the second round that made it even more difficult. the road to a prosperous Etcheverry.
Djokovic was not distracted either after the chair umpire gave him a warning for failing to comply with the 25 seconds between point and point on serve and, despite his dissatisfied face, he restrained himself and continued with his routine bounces before executing the throw motion.
His 36 years weighed on him and his physique prevented him from continuing with the same self-confidence against an Etcheverry who decided to take a little more risks, with a greater vocation to finish the points on the net. The best exchanges took a long time to delight a noisy Rod Laver who was amazed by long rallies of the highest quality.
The experience of the ten-time champion prevailed in the tiebreaker game for the final 7-6(2), against an Etcheverry that left everything on the court and will return to Argentina proud after having achieved its best record on the banks of the Yarra River .
The current champion surpassed the Spanish Rafael Nadal with his victory and confirmed himself as the second tennis player with the most appearances (16) in the round of 16 of the Australian Open, on a list led by the Swiss Roger Federer, who has been present in 18 occasions.
The 24-time major champion also certified his sixty-third appearance in the fourth round of a slam and moved closer to the Swiss master Federer, who with 69 appearances is the one who has played in the most fourth rounds.
