Novak Djokovic has rediscovered some of his trademark mojo to tame Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a milestone third-round win at the Australian Open. The 10-time Open champion has not been bested at Melbourne Park since 2018 but has hardly flown out of the blocks at the start of yet another title defense, facing a challenging start to the tournament.
Croatian young gun Dino Prizmic and home favorite Alexei Popyrin both pinched a set from the Serb in the opening rounds as the world No.1 battled an illness and a heckler. During his match on Jan. 19, the Serbian player was in complete control smashing 34 winners in his 100th match at Melbourne Park and never faced a break point in a largely routine 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-2) victory over No.30 seed Etcheverry. Djokovic becomes the third player in Open history to reach the century mark, behind old foe Roger Federer (117 matches) and American legend Serena Williams (105 matches).
After stretching his Open winning streak to 31, the 24-time major champion will face No.20 seed Adrian Mannarino in the fourth round. Keen for an early night, Djokovic produced an inch-perfect drop shot in his final service game to keep the lifting Argentine at bay, calling on his years of experience to close out the tiebreak and settle the match in a little less than two-and-a-half hours.