Djokovic comes close to 'triple bagel' in Melbourne masterclass

Novak Djokovic crushed Adrian Mannarino for the loss of just three games at the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic equalled Roger Federer’s record by reaching a 58th Grand Slam

quarter-final after crushing Adrian Mannarino for the loss of just three games at the Australian Open.

It appeared the world No 1 might do so by becoming the first player to claim a ‘triple bagel’ victory at the Australian Open when he won the first 13 games against Adrian Mannarino.

The Frenchman looked hugely relieved when he finally got on the board in the second game of the third set but Djokovic, playing in his 73rd major tournament, eased to a 6-0 6-0 6-3 victory.

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Having started the tournament battling illness and surviving two long matches, Djokovic is now looking in ominous form, although he still became riled by the crowd at times.

“The best sets I’ve played in a while,” the Serbian said afterwards. “I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building up so much in the stadium. I needed to get that out of the way and refocus on what I needed to do to finish the match.

“I served very well. In the moments when I needed to come up with the first serve, I did. All in all, great performance.

The 10-time Australian Open champion hit 31 winners and raced to victory in just one hour and 44 minutes to progress to the last eight for the 14th time, which is equal second on the all-time list with Rafael Nadal and John Newcombe.

Tricky left-hander Mannarino can pose problems for the best of players by working the angles and the world No 19 pushed Djokovic hard in the opening game of the contest but still found himself down a set in only 33 minutes.

Djokovic let out a roar after breaking early in the second set, and delivered another body blow in the third game when he held serve after six deuces.

Two sets down and still not on the scoreboard, Mannarino finally won a game early in the third to draw level at 1-1, avoiding a rare “triple bagel” – 6-0 6-0 6-0 – and smiled as the crowd cheered.

Only five Grand Slam matches in the Open era having been won by that scoreline.

Djokovic soon closed out victory and he will now play either Stefanos Tsitsipas, the runner-up here last year, or 12th-ranked Taylor Fritz.

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Djokovic has admitted to feeling unwell in recent rounds but said his health is improving.

“Last couple of days has been really good,” he said. “It’s going in a positive direction, health-wise, tennis-wise.”

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