The Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic sealed his pass to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season and which he has won nine times, after overwhelming Australian Alex de Miñaur in his round of 16 match on Monday (6/2 , 6/1, 6/2), and will face Russian Andrey Rublev in search of the semifinals.
The Balkan, recovered from the muscular discomfort in his right leg that affected him in their previous duel, needed only two hours and three minutes to leave the last representative of the local tennis players out of the competition, which he prevented from breaking even once.
With this, he guaranteed his 25th consecutive victory in the great “Aussie”, equaling his best mark in the same contest, and he is only one win away from matching the best streak of the tournament in the Open Era, held by the American Andre Agassi , with 26 victories linked between 2000 and 2004.
With a Rod Laver Arena delivered to De Miñaur, ‘Nole’ gave his rival no options with a spectacular start that, after the initial 2-2, led him to win nine consecutive games (6-2, 5-0). After ending the second set in his favor as well, he started the third with an irreplaceable 4-0 for the Australian. With this, the pass to the quarterfinals was guaranteed. The data? Whenever the Serbian passed that round in Melbourne, he has been proclaimed champion.
His rival in the quarterfinals will be the Russian Andrey Rublev, who was able to come back from 2-5 in the fifth and final set, saving two match points and after losing 3-7 in the final tie-break, against Danish Holger Rune (6/3, 3/6, 6/3, 4/6, 7/6) and who will return to the Top 5 of the ATP ranking.
Djokovic dominates the face-to-face between the two tennis players on the circuit 2-1, with two wins in the ATP Finals. Rublev’s lone win came in the 2022 Belgrade final, lifting a title against Djokovic in his hometown.