Tennis: Novak Djokovic ‘humiliates’ Aussie at Australian Open in ruthless display

The quarter-final picture is locked in at the Australian Open after Monday’s action at Melbourne Park.

More seeds fell by the wayside as day seven unfolded, but it was all eyes on Rod Laver Arena on Monday night as nine-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic went up against Aussie Alex de Minaur.

The hopes of a nation settled in to take in the action. In a little over thirty minutes those hopes were dashed.

Djokovic who entered the contest with a suspect hamstring injury, quickly put those fears to bed as he displayed his best tennis so far of the tournament.

After a promising start that saw the scoreline locked at 2-2 in the opening set, Djokovic turned into the terminator as he ripped the heart clean out of the Aussie and the crowd inside the arena.

The 21-time Grand Slam winner rattled off 16 of the next 19 games as he claimed the 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 victory in two hours and six minutes.

“(Alex de Minaur) is getting bullied around the tennis court,” Roger Rasheed said on SEN.

“This is as good as I’ve seen him move (this tournament).”

Sportsbet’s Sam Phillips wrote: “If I’m Demon here I’m “straining” my back + pulling the pin asap. Proper humiliation, unfortunately.”

From 2-2 and De Minaur playing well, Djokovic has gone into a gear that only he has.

8 unanswered games. Mind-bogglingly good. And he’s sending a statement.

— David Law (@DavidLawTennis) January 23, 2023

Novak is mauling the demon.

— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) January 23, 2023

This is workplace bullying.
Djokovic is ridiculous.
Someone give De Minaur a hug. #AusOpen

— Rory Flanagan (@Rory_Flanagan) January 23, 2023

This is crushingly relentless stuff from Novak Djokovic. Just in a completely different orbit than Alex De Minaur tonight.#AusOpen

— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) January 23, 2023

The Serbian superstar was just as ruthless post-game as he was during the action.

Jim Courier asked him with his opening question: “I’m not going to ask you how you beat him so convincingly. I’ll ask you why you beat him so convincingly.”

A cold-blooded Djokovic responded: “Because I wanted to.”

After being asked how his injury was and how it had plagued him throughout the contest, he said the concerns weren’t with him on Monday night.

“Tonight it wasn’t obvious I was dealing with an injury. I mean ...I didn’t feel anything today,” he said.

“Today was great. I thank my medical team, my physio. Thank God anybody that really helped me.”

Djokovic will now take on Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals after his stunning five-set thriller against Holger Rune.

The three other quarterfinal contests will see Karen Khachanov take on Sebastian Korda, Stefanos Tsitsipas take on Jiri Lehecka and Ben Shelton square off against Tommy Paul.