Novak Djokovic’s grip on the Australian Open title looked shaky for a short spell yesterday but the world number one finally shook off Gilles Simon in a four-and-a-half hour marathon to take his place in the quarter-finals.
Serena Williams, by contrast, booked a re-match of last year’s title decider against Maria Sharapova by sweeping into the quarter-finals without having lost a set, and Roger Federer progressed almost as comfortably to bring the day to a close. The whiff of an upset hung around Melbourne Park for much of the day - Tomas Berdych, Agnieszka Radwanska and Carla Suarez Navarro all lost opening sets - but it was most potent in Djokovic’s five-setter against Simon.
Djokovic had eased into the fourth round without losing a set as he continued the dominant form that earned him 11 titles, including three of the four grand slams, last year. Djokovic’s next opponent, Japan’s Kei Nishikori, must have enjoyed every last minute of the match as he rested up after a straightforward 6-4 6-2 6-4 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Nishikori was humiliated 6-1 6-1 in his last meeting with Djokovic in November and will be hoping to avenge that defeat and revive memories of his stunning upset of the Serbian in the semi-finals of the 2014 U.S. Open.
Williams lost her serve for the second time at the tournament in the opening game of her match but that was just about all that went against the American in her brisk 6-2 6-1 demolition of Margarita Gasparyan.
Sharapova was make to work much harder for her 7-5 7-5 victory over teenager Belinda Bencic in the opening match of the day on the main showcourt.
If Djokovic’s high error count was uncharacteristic, the fifth seed’s reliance on her serve to get her out of trouble against the rising Swiss talent was also at odds with perceptions of her game in recent years.
