Djokovic Holds Off Halys In Melbourne
Djokovic Holds Off Halys In Melbourne
Defending champion through to third round
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic put on a masterclass as he raced into the Australian Open third round with a 6-1, 6-2, 7-6(3) victory over spirited French teenager Quentin Halys on Wednesday night in Melbourne.
As good as Djokovic was – and his performance was close to that of the Doha final against Rafael Nadal – the 19-year-old Halys was not overawed and gave a good account of himself on the Rod Laver Arena.
After the first two sets passed him by in 56 minutes, Halys earned himself a break of serve to start the third set. Djokovic immediately hit back, but the Frenchman dug in for a tough third set, extending Djokovic to a tie-break – which featured a standout round-the-net-post winner from Halys on the first point – before the Serb broke away to clinch victory in one hour and 40 minutes. The Belgrade native hit 42 winners and committed just 14 unforced errors.
World No. 187 Halys left the court to a standing ovation. He had won his first tour-level match when he defeated Ivan Dodig in the first round.
The 28-year-old Djokovic, who opened 2016 by capturing his 60th tour-level title in Doha, has won 31 of his past 32 matches, also taking in titles at the US Open (d. Federer), Beijing (d. Nadal), Shanghai (d. Tsonga), Paris (d. Murray) and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (d. Federer).
The Serb is bidding to equal Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian titles and become the 10th man in history to win six titles at any Grand Slam event. The right-hander first lifted the trophy at Melbourne Park in 2008 (d. Tsonga) and returned victorious in 2011 (d. Murray), 2012 (d. Nadal), 2013 (d. Murray) and 2015 (d. Murray).
Djokovic goes on to face No. 28 seed Andreas Seppi, who defeated Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Twelve months ago, Seppi recorded one of the greatest wins of his career when he stunned Roger Federer in the third round at Melbourne Park. But if he is to do the same against Djokovic, the Italian will need to overcome a 0-11 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Serb.