New season, same script for Novak Djokovic.
Trailing World No. 64 Quentin Halys 2-5 after a competitive first set at the Adelaide International 1 Thursday, did anyone really doubt that the Serbian would come back? With the Frenchman serving for the set at 5-3, Djokovic went into lockdown mode, breaking to love after teasing four consecutive unforced errors from the 26-year-old’s racquet.
From there it was a business-like performance from the man who spent a record 373 weeks atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as he closed out a 7-6(3) 7-6(5) win to set a quarter-final clash with explosive Canadian shotmaker Denis Shapovalov. To his credit, Halys remained competitive throughout, but ultimately slipped to 0-12 in career meetings against Top 30 opponents.
“It was a great performance from my opponent today and I want to congratulate him for a great fight. He played like a Top 10 opponent,” Djokovic said. “He was serving big, hitting his spots and on a fast court like this it’s tough to break, so two tie-breaks is a realistic score in today’s match. I’m glad to overcome the challenge.”
Djokovic, who has won 20 of his past 21 matches, claimed the third title of his career in Adelaide in 2007. This week he seeks career title No. 92. He next faces Shapovalov Friday with a potential blockbuster semi-final with Daniil Medvedev on Saturday.
Looking ahead to his next match, Djokovic said, “Denis is one of the most complete players out there. He has a very dynamic style of tennis. He has a big serve, comes to the net, is comfortable playing at the back of a court and he’s a great athlete. I haven’t played him for a while so I’m looking forward to it. Every match from here gets tougher.”
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Ahead of the Djokovic clash, Shapovalov is likely to hit the practice court in search of rhythm on his first serve. The Canadian put just 55 per cent of first serves into play against Australian Rinky Hijikata in the first round, when he also threw in nine double faults. In Thursday’s 6-3, 6-3 win over another qualifier, World No. 88 Roman Safiullin, Shapovalov cut his double fault count to two but still put only 57 per cent of first serves into play.
Despite losing nine of 10 matches between Rome and Montreal last year, Shapovalov finished with a respectable 34-26 mark on the season, and at No. 18 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Djokovic leads Shapovalov 7-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, but the 23-year-old has been very competitive in their three matches since 2020.
Sixth seed Jannik Sinner also moved on with a 7-6(2), 6-4 win against local favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Italian saved six of the seven break points he faced against the Australian wild card.
It will not get any easier for Sinner against American Sebastian Korda, who has quickly gained steam in Adelaide. After beginning his season with a straight-sets victory against former World No. 1 Andy Murray, Korda on Thursday defeated Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4.
Top Doubles Seeds Upset
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski clinched year-end No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings in 2022, but that did not deter Mackenzie McDonald and Marcelo Melo. The American-British duo upset the top seeds 6-3, 5-7, 12-10 to reach the quarter-finals in Adelaide. In other doubles action, Jamie Murray and Michael Venus began their partnership with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-2 victory against Maxime Cressy and Albano Olivetti, also advancing to the last eight.