Novak Djokovic sent a warning shot to his rivals after reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The Serbian faced a tricky opponent in Tomas Machac, who defeated him in their last meeting at the 2024 Geneva Open.
The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the most dangerous players on the ATP Tour and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2025.
But any chance he had of winning the first Grand Slam of the year is now over after Novak Djokovic produced an emphatic performance to reach the last 16 at the Australian Open for the 17th time.
What did Novak Djokovic find surprising about his Australian Open performance?
It was expected that Djokovic would be pushed hard by Machac, but the 37-year-old produced some vintage tennis.
He stormed through the first set and despite suffering physically, he came from behind to take set two.
After breaking serve early in set three Djokovic cruised to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win to continue his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam, and he admitted he surprised himself with how well he played.
“I am hot headed right now so I will try and give a calm and diplomatic answer to that but I think I played really well, honestly. I am very happy with my game,” Djokovic told Andrea Petkovic on court.
“I was slightly surprised with the result to be honest, to be him in straight sets. He was a break up early in the second, I struggled physically there, so somehow managed to turn things around and hold serve when I needed to.
“A couple of points decided that second set, which could have gone his way and maybe the outcome of the match would be different but overall I think in the third I felt fresh and moved really well.
“Overall I was very pleased with my game. There is always something to improve and work on, but this is definitely the best match I played in the tournament.”
Novak Djokovic edges closer to Roger Federer record by reaching last 16 at Australian Open
On Friday Djokovic took two hours and 22 minutes to book his spot in the last 16 of the Australian Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion became just the second man to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Pak aged 37 or older since 1988.
He also has 66 total appearances in the last 16 at Grand Slams, just three behind his former rival Roger Federer.
Should Djokovic reach at least the fourth round at the remaining three majors in 2025, he will equal the record set by the Swiss Maestro.
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