Novak Djokovic defeated Jiri Lehecka in straight sets (3-0), who met the same fate as his Czech compatriot Tomas Machac in the previous round.
After two hours and 40 minutes of play, the set scores were 6:3, 6:4, 7:6 (4) for the ten-time champion in Melbourne. His advancement to the quarterfinals means that he will play among the top eight for the 15th time, which is a record.
One Czech in the third round, and another in the fourth. There’s that famous song by Miladin Sobic called “From Friend to Friend,” and we’ll use the same and serve it as “From Czech to Czech,” authored by Novak Djokovic.
The greatest tennis player of all time advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after defeating Jiri Lehecka, without much trouble, winning with a final score of 6:3, 6:4, 7:6(4). Djokovic continues to visibly elevate his form as the final stages of the first Grand Slam approach, and it’s evident he’s ready to attack the record 25th title at the most important tournaments, or rather, his 100th career trophy!
Seeing how the 16-year-younger Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz secured passage in a little over an hour and a half without too much effort due to Jack Draper’s injury, Djokovic wanted to finish his business quickly as well, but after winning two sets in about 70 minutes, a period of the match followed in which the world number 29 offered strong resistance and put the Serbian ace to his biggest test so far. The third set went to a tie-break during which Djokovic took complete control with a mini-break, then another after Lehecka returned the blow. Although the 23-year-old tennis player did not give up, the greatest of all time maintained calmness and composure until the last exchange of strokes, even at a critical moment when his opponent rushed for a final time at 5-4. He endured a long rally and delivered the final blow, after which he put his finger to his ear, as if telling the part of the audience with whom he has been at odds since the beginning of the tournament: ‘Come on, let me hear you now’.
It was evident that Djokovic was angry at the treatment of a part of the audience towards him, so immediately after the match he simply took the microphone from Jim Courier and briefly said: “Thank you very much for your support, thank you for being here,” after which he turned and went into the tunnel.
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Source: Mozzartsport, Photo: PTI