Novak Djokovic Equals Roger Federer’s Record in Dominant Australian Open Victory

Novak Djokovic of Serbia displayed a sensational performance, securing a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-0 6-0 6-3 triumph over France’s Adrian Mannarino on Sunday.

This marks Djokovic’s 58th time reaching the last eight of a Grand Slam, matching Roger Federer’s all-time record.

Chasing his record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic, who faced challenges in the first two rounds, dropping a set in each, has found his rhythm as the tournament progresses into the second week.

“The first two sets [were some] of the best sets I’ve played in a while,” Djokovic commented afterward, per the ATP Tour.

While Djokovic initially appeared on track for a rare triple bagel by winning the first two sets without dropping a game, Mannarino, who could only laugh at the end of the second set, managed to secure a game in the third.

“I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building up so much in the stadium,” Djokovic said. “I just needed to get that one out of the way so I can refocus on what I needed to do to close out the match.”

In the quarterfinals, Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz, who caused an upset by defeating last year’s finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(3) 5-7 6-3 6-3 in their fourth-round match.

Fritz, the tournament’s No. 12 seed, had never defeated a top-10 player at a Grand Slam before. Still, he limited himself to 19 unforced errors and hit 13 aces to reach his maiden Australian Open quarterfinal.

“The last three games of the match I really, really turned it on, almost like [I] was in a trance and everything,” Fritz said.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff, the American teenager, secured her first-ever Australian Open quarterfinal with a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory over Poland’s Magdalena Frech. Gauff has now won 11 consecutive Grand Slam matches, including her US Open title.

Gauff’s impressive performance, hitting 21 winners compared to Frech’s seven and never facing a break point, makes it easy to forget that she is still a teenager.

“I just feel like I’ve lived so many lives the last four years that I just feel older than 19,” Gauff mentioned. “Yeah, I definitely do forget my age a lot.”

Gauff becomes the youngest woman to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2008, where she will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.