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By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, April 16, 2015

 
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic crushed unseeded Andreas Haider-Maurer, 6-4, 6-0, to score his 14th straight win and set up a Monte-Carlo quarterfinal with Marin Cilic.

Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

A tournament record 15 seeds advanced to the the Monte-Carlo round of 16, solidifying its status as a playground for the elite.

Enthused party crasher Andreas Haider-Maurer began today as the only non-seed still standing and stayed on even terms through six games.

More: Monfils Defeats Federer, Dimitrov Sweeps Wawrinka

By the time Novak Djokovic pasted a lob off the back edge of the baseline the world No. 52 was teetering.

Then he was tasting dirt.

In the final game, a twisting Djokovic forehand sent Haider-Maurer tumbling to the court. Flat on his back, his shirt caked in clay, the Austrian stared into space for a moment as if embracing a  brief reprieve from the 6-4, 6-0 thrashing Djokovic dispensed.

"You okay?" chair umpire Carlos Bernardes asked.

"Yeah," the 28-year-old Austrian groaned in drained voice that sounded more afflicted than affirmative.

You could feel his pain.

The world No. 1 was so precise it was punishing.

Continuing his quest to become the first man to win the opening three Masters titles of the season, Djokovic was ruthless in racking up his 14th consecutive win.

Fresh off his sweeps of the Indian Wells and Miami Masters titles, Djokovic dished out a bagel set for the fifth time in his last eight matches.

Covering the court smoothly, Djokovic has dropped just six games in his first two clay-court matches of the season and looks like a man determined to sustain this roll.

“Now I have two matches that have been satisfying performance wise for me,” said Djokovic in his post-match press conference. “Now the quarterfinals are getting tougher, obviously. The level of performance needs to be high, needs to be sustained throughout the whole match if I want to be a winner of those encounters."

In the second set, Djokovic won 12 of 15 points played on his opponent's serve, shredding Haider-Maurer with three straight breaks.

The 2013 Monte Carlo champion calls the Principality home. When he wasn't hitting lines, Djokovic introduced his opponent to obscure areas beyond the baseline. He won 21 of 26 points extending his lead to 4-0.

A brilliant topspin lob caught the back edge of the baseline giving Djokovic the final break. He served out the match in 56 minutes and will play eighth-seeded Marin Cilic for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The U.S. Open champion defeated 11th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Cilic did not drop serve, saving the only break point he faced in the second set. It was his fourth win in five ATP meetings with the Frenchman.

“I have Marin Cilic, who is a Grand Slam winner, who is playing the tennis of his life," Djokovic said. "He struggled a little bit with his injuries the past four months, but won against Tsonga. I watched a little bit of that match. I look forward to that challenge. Obviously now it’s going to get tougher.”

The world No. 1 has dished out plenty of hurt to Cilic, too.

Djokovic has deconstructed the Croatian's serve in posting an imposing 11-0 lifetime record against Cilic. Their most competitive match came in the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinals with Djokovic rallying for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2 victory. Djokovic scored a four-set win over Cilic in the 2014 Roland Garros third round, which is their only prior clay-court meeting.

The winner of the Djokovic-Cilic quarterfinal will face either eight-time champion Rafael Nadal or fifth-seeded David Ferrer for a place in the final.


 

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