Australian Open: Djokovic breezes past Etcheverry on 100th Australian Open appearance to make last 16
Novak Djokovic defeated Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (2). He’ll play the winner of the match between Adrian Mannarino and Ben Shelton in the next round
Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open
Novak Djokovic brushed aside the challenge of Tomas Martin Etcheverry, dispatching the 30th seed 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (2) to reach the last 16 on his 100th appearance at the Australian Open.
Of those 100 appearances at Melbourne Park, Djokovic has won 92 and lost just eight. Only three of those losses came after 2011, the year in which the Serb truly broke through to the very summit of the sport.
Djokovic’s win sets up the tantalising prospect of a possible meeting with America’s talented youngster Ben Shelton in the fourth round, should he come through his encounter against Adrian Mannarino.
Djokovic back to his imperious best
Following two rounds during which he was pushed physically and appeared to be struggling with a minor illness, Djokovic was very much back to his imperious best against Etcheverry.
The Argentine played well, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion was simply too good on a court he has dominated so ruthlessly for well over a decade now.
A single break point was all that was needed for Djokovic as he sealed the opening set, before breaking twice in the second to move into a commanding two-set lead.
Etcheverry fought valiantly in the third, staving off relentless pressure from the world No 1 to take the final stanza to a tiebreak. But with a winning record of 17-2 in Grand Slam tiebreaks across 2023, Djokovic was always firm favourite to seal the match in three. He duly obliged, taking the breaker 7-2 to cruise into the fourth round in straightforward fashion.
“It was a great match, the best performance I’ve had during this tournament and obviously I’m pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets,” Djokovic said in his on-court post-match interview.
“Tomas Martin Etcheverry stepped it up and raised his level of tennis in the third set. We went toe-to-toe in the tiebreaker.”
challenging upbringing fuels Djokovic’s motivation today
Djokovic then went on to express his gratitude to his parents and, when asked what still motivates him at this stage in his career, he alluded to his childhood, one that took place against the backdrop of war in Serbia in the 1990s.
“I’ve been blessed to go through a very interesting life journey so to say. Obviously coming from Serbia during the 1990s wasn’t easy for my family.
“My parents had to endure a lot of adversity economically and in every sense in order for me to live my dream really, to allow me to play the sport that was very expensive and still is for my country, compared with other team sports.
“I chose to play it and my parents did everything they possibly could to provide the conditions and the possibilities for me to be able to train. I wasn’t travelling for a couple of years in the junior days because of lack of resources, war, embargo, a lot of different things.
“At the end of the day, when I reflect on the journey that I’ve been through and that we’ve all been through as a family or as people of Serbia, it’s been honestly an incredible blessing to be here and I’m very grateful for that.”
is an 11th australian open title inevitable?
With victory, the 10-time champion’s quest for a record-extending 11th Australian Open title remains firmly on course.
As the first major of the new season rolls into its second week, there are still no clearer answers to the seemingly time-old question at Melbourne Park that still dominates the men’s singles draw each year – who, if anyone, can stop Novak Djokovic?
Melbourne (Grand Slam), other third-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 58.910.000, most recent results first):
- Alexander Zverev vs. Alex Michelsen
- Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Daniil Medvedev
- Cameron Norrie vs. Casper Ruud
- Grigor Dimitrov vs. Nuno Borges
- Arthur Cazaux vs. Tallon Griekspoor
- Juncheng Shang vs. Carlos Alcaraz
- Ugo Humbert vs. Hubert Hurkacz
- Tommy Paul vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
- Sebastian Korda vs. Andrey Rublev: friday
- Alex De Minaur (10) beat Flavio Cobolli (Q): 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
- Adrian Mannarino vs. Ben Shelton: friday
- Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) beat Luca Van Assche: 6-3, 6-0, 6-4
- Taylor Fritz (12) beat Fabian Marozsan: 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
- Jannik Sinner (4) beat Sebastian Baez (26): 6-0, 6-1, 6-3
- Karen Khachanov (15) beat Tomas Machac: 6-4, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5)
