Djokovic put together his most clinical display of his first three matches on Rod Laver Arena with new coach Andy Murray. The 10-time champion brushed aside 26th seed Tomas Machac, 6-1 6-4, 6-4, to remain on a quarterfinal collision course with third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz.
“I think I played really well, honestly. I’m very happy with my game,” Djokovic declared to Andrea Petkovic. “I was slightly surprised, to be honest, with the result—to beat him in straight sets.”
Seeded seventh at this edition of the Melbourne major, Djokovic had been pushed to four sets in his opening two rounds by opponents ranked outside of the Top 100. Against Machac, the 37-year-old put a physical issue that arose in the second set behind him to stay the course.
