With his 399th Grand Slam match victory over Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli, Novak Djokovic entered the third round of the Australian Open.
Fourth seed Djokovic, seeking a record 11th Melbourne Park title and 25th Grand Slam trophy overall, systematically dismantled Maestrelli 6-3 6-2 6-2 to continue his quest to make more history on Rod Laver Arena.
The 38-year-old maintained a steady grip in the second-round clash without needing to shift into top gear and has now dropped just 14 games in two matches.
“I didn’t know much about him (Maestrelli) until a few days ago, that happens more often than not these days,” Djokovic said of his 23-year-old opponent.
“But the respect is always there and I didn’t underestimate him. He has a big serve and a big game, he just lacks a little experience. He has the game to go far and high in the world rankings and I wish him that.”
He has never lost a match at a major tournament to a player ranked as low as world No. 141 Maestrelli, who was making his Grand Slam debut, and Djokovic was in control from the start of the contest.
Djokovic raced through the opening set at the end of a break in the second game and surged again in the opening game of the next set to put a lot of pressure on Maestrelli, who struggled to capitalize on his few openings.
The Serbian earned a set point with an acrobatic backhand and secured the set with an unreturnable forehand to close in on his 101st win in Melbourne, leaving him just one behind record holder Roger Federer.
Maestrelli had a rare moment of joy in the third set as he recovered a break from two down, but Djokovic leveled again to close out the win.
Lorenzo Musettififth seed, dominated his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Sonega, winning the contest 6-3 6-3 6-4 to advance to the third round.
Musetti outplayed his namesake in long rallies, while the 30-year-old Sonego appeared to struggle physically towards the end against his younger opponent.
Vaccherot: I try to be first to everything these days
Valentin Vacherot proves that his breakthrough in Shanghai last fall was no fluke
Valentin VacherotThe 30th seed continues to show that his remarkable breakthrough in Shanghai last autumn was no fluke as he defeated Australian wild card Rinki Hijikata 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-2.
The 27-year-old, the first Monaco player to reach the third round of a Grand Slam in the Open era, stunningly won the Masters 1000 title in China as a qualifier, defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.
It elevated a player who had competed almost exclusively at the lower levels of the sport onto the global stage.
His first-round win over Martin Dam was only the second-best five-set match he played, and he followed that up with a win over Hijikata.
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Most notably when Vaccherot defeated cousin Artur Rinderknech in the final of the Shanghai Masters
He said of his history moment: “I’m trying to be first for everyone these days, but no, it’s great. I’ve got a lot of pride behind me, the country. I know a lot of people are following me at home. A lot of people stayed up, so I’m really happy about that. I’m happy to win for them.”
“I’m sure so many people thought it was just one week. Then even though I did well after (the Masters) in Paris, it was probably just my confidence at the moment, so I’m happy to win as many matches as possible.”
“If some people were wondering if I had the level, maybe they have more answers. I’m just playing tennis and trying to play as well as possible this season and in every tournament.”
He will take the eighth seed Ben Shelton next after the American beat Australian qualifier Dane Sweeney 6-3 6-2 6-2.
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