Novak Djokovic enjoyed a routine victory over Tomas Etcheverry after a tough start to his Australian Open campaign. The world No. 1 resumed regular service as he needed two hours and 28 minutes to book his spot in the second week with a convincing 6-3 6-3 7-6 win. Etcheverry had already beaten one multi-Grand Slam champion in Andy Murray, denying the chance of a possible Djokovic vs Murray rematch.
Djokovic was looking for a straightforward victory after being tested in his first two matches. The world No. 1 dropped sets to Dino Prizmic and Alexei Popyrin and looked flat in the latter match as speculation grew over whether Djokovic was ill or still dealing with a wrist injury he picked up at the United Cup.
Etcheverry, meanwhile, advanced to the third round without dropping a set as he defeated two veterans of the game – Murray and Gael Monfils. The 30th seed looked as though he could give Djokovic another tough contest but the 10-time champion looked more like his usual self as he stepped onto Rod Laver Arena, earning an early break to lead 4-2.
The Argentine saved a set point on his serve but Djokovic closed it out one game later with ease, dropping just four points in the first 44 minutes. But the 36-year-old also enjoyed routine opening sets against Prizmic and Popyrin before being dragged into a battle and needed to avoid the same with Etcheverry.
He managed to do just that, completing the match without facing a break point. Just two days after Djokovic’s forehand seemed to fail him – spraying errors all over the court against Popyrin – the world No. 1 put on a masterclass, firing down 10 more winners in the second set as he broke Etcheverry twice to lead 6-3 6-3.
Djokovic received a time violation while serving at 1-1 in the third set, running down the shot clock. It was his only real disturbance in the match, and Nick Kyrgios wasn’t happy with the call on commentary, branding the decision “ridiculous”. The top seed held Etcheverry off as the 24-year-old started to step it up, getting to deuce on Djokovic’s serve for the first time in the match.
But he was unable to create a break point opportunity as Djokovic won a 14-shot rally to stay ahead, running his opponent side-to-side as the Argentine painted the lines before dumping the ball in the net. Etcheverry kept himself alive when serving to stay in the match twice, forcing a tiebreak which started with a thrilling 25-shot rally won by Djokovic.
