Twelve months ago, Andreas Seppi posted one of the upsets of the year as he stunned Roger Federer in the third round of the Australian Open. He made life difficult for Novak Djokovic on Friday night, but the World No. 1 made sure he did not fall victim to the Italian, overcoming strong resistance to prevail 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(6) on Margaret Court Arena.
A 25-minute first set flashed by as Djokovic won more than double the amount of points as Seppi, but the Italian found his feet in the second set. He saved break points to hold serve in the first game and was denied the chance to break Djokovic in the sixth game. The Serb made his breakthrough in the 11th game before closing out the tight 59-minute set.
Seppi again had chances to break Djokovic at the start of the third set as he continued to dig his heels in. Djokovic rallied from 15/40 to hold though. In the eventual tie-break, Seppi recovered from 2-4 down to hold two set points at 6-4, but was unable to convert. At 6-6, a looping forehand from Djokovic brought an error from Seppi and the Serb sealed victory with an unreturned serve in two hours and 21 minutes.
"I think that I started very well," said Djokovic. "A set and then a couple of break points early in the second. Didn't use that. He started serving well. I backed up half a step back. He started playing more aggressive tennis. Not as many unforced errors.
"I think I served my way out of trouble several times. But certainly I must be pleased with a straight-sets win because both sets, especially the third, could have gone a different way.
"I played a quality player who took out Federer last year here and who has been on the tour for many years. He is not afraid to play big tennis on a big stage. He likes it, I think. It was a great test. It was a physical match, a lot of exchanges from the baseline. I'm just glad to go through."
Djokovic improved to a 12-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record over the Italian as he set up a fourth-round meeting with France’s Gilles Simon.
The Belgrade native is through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 10th straight year and has a 53-6 tournament record. He is bidding to equal Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian titles and become the 10th man in history to win six titles at any Grand Slam event. The right-hander triumphed in Melbourne in 2008 (d. Tsonga) and again in 2011 (d. Murray), 2012 (d. Nadal), 2013 (d. Murray) and 2015 (d. Murray).
World No. 15 Simon will attempt to beat Djokovic for just the second time in 11 meetings after dismissing Federico Delbonis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 42 minutes. Since beating Djokovic in their first contest eight years ago in Marseille, Simon has lost his past nine meetings with the Serb. The 31 year old is looking to reach the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time since 2009 (l. to Nadal).
Seppi again had chances to break Djokovic at the start of the third set as he continued to dig his heels in. Djokovic rallied from 15/40 to hold though. In the eventual tie-break, Seppi recovered from 2-4 down to hold two set points at 6-4, but was unable to convert. At 6-6, a looping forehand from Djokovic brought an error from Seppi and the Serb sealed victory with an unreturned serve in two hours and 21 minutes.
"I think that I started very well," said Djokovic. "A set and then a couple of break points early in the second. Didn't use that. He started serving well. I backed up half a step back. He started playing more aggressive tennis. Not as many unforced errors.
"I think I served my way out of trouble several times. But certainly I must be pleased with a straight-sets win because both sets, especially the third, could have gone a different way.
"I played a quality player who took out Federer last year here and who has been on the tour for many years. He is not afraid to play big tennis on a big stage. He likes it, I think. It was a great test. It was a physical match, a lot of exchanges from the baseline. I'm just glad to go through."
Djokovic improved to a 12-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record over the Italian as he set up a fourth-round meeting with France’s Gilles Simon.
The Belgrade native is through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 10th straight year and has a 53-6 tournament record. He is bidding to equal Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian titles and become the 10th man in history to win six titles at any Grand Slam event. The right-hander triumphed in Melbourne in 2008 (d. Tsonga) and again in 2011 (d. Murray), 2012 (d. Nadal), 2013 (d. Murray) and 2015 (d. Murray).
World No. 15 Simon will attempt to beat Djokovic for just the second time in 11 meetings after dismissing Federico Delbonis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 42 minutes. Since beating Djokovic in their first contest eight years ago in Marseille, Simon has lost his past nine meetings with the Serb. The 31 year old is looking to reach the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time since 2009 (l. to Nadal).
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