Novak Djokovic continued his fairly seamless progress at the Australian Open by beating Fernando Verdasco in straight sets this morning.
The world number one recorded a 7-6(8) 6-3 6-4 third-round victory in Melbourne, meaning that he is still yet to drop a set during the tournament.
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That could have been different had Verdasco managed to steal an opener which spanned over an hour and went deep into a tie-break.
The Spaniard was only hanging on, though, rather than threatening to take a surprise lead as he saved six break points on his way to the breaker, while having none himself.
He continued to fight as he survived four set points, only for Djokovic to finally shake him off with a wide forehand which his opponent could only return into the net.
The four-time champion denied Verdasco three break points in the process of opening up a three-game lead at the start of the second, with the help of some eye-catching forehand winners.
The 31st seed would do the same in the ninth game, but Djokovic immediately served out for a two-set advantage.
Having been pushed up until this point, the Serbian closed out the contest with minimal fuss as he broke Verdasco in game five, and did not present the 31-year-old with even a sniff of getting back into the match.
Djokovic will now face Gilles Muller in the fourth round after the Luxembourgian knocked out America's John Isner.
Joe Fish
