Novak Djokovic has safely secured his passage into the last eight of the Australian Open by brushing aside Gilles Muller in straight sets this afternoon.
The top seed needed a little over two hours to see off his opponent, prevailing 6-4 7-5 7-5 at the Rod Laver Arena to set up a meeting with Milos Raonic in the next round.
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A four-time winner of this event in Melbourne, Djokovic began on the back foot as Muller, who made a decent start with his serve, raced into a 3-2 lead in the first set.
The contest's first break of serve came in the seventh game as the Luxembourg pro undercooked a forehand into the net, gifting his illustrious opponent three break points which he fully capitalised on, despite undergoing treatment after scraping his fingers along the court.
Djokovic, who has yet to drop a single set in this year's tournament, did not look back from that point as he held out to take the opener, before doing likewise in a more straightforward second set.
Once more Muller gave little away on his own serve to keep pace with the Serbian, although it was Djokovic who won a break in the 11th game to take a commanding lead overall, making the most of the world number 42's failed backhand attempt.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner almost lost serve for the first time in the match in the fifth game of the third set, but Djokovic once more somehow managed to get the better of Muller at the end of a lively exchange to come out on top and close in on victory.
Having rediscovered his intensity midway through the set, Djokovic looked to push on to seal his place in the quarter-finals, although Muller had other ideas as he claimed the next game to play for the set.
A cross-court backhand ensured that it was the world number one who took the game, though, meaning that he had the chance to serve for the match, and he did just that to ensure that he would be in the last eight of the tournament for the eighth year in succession.
Daniel Lewis
