By Chris Oddo | Saturday, January 24, 2015

 

Novak Djokovic fought through a tough first set and eventually breezed past Fernando Verdasco in three sets on day 6.

Photo Source: Ryan Pierse/Getty

When you’re a four-time champion at a particular major, winning just comes with the territory. So it’s no surprise that Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open’s round of 16 for a ninth consecutive time on Day 6 with a 7-6(8), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Fernando Verdasco.

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The triumph was Djokovic’s fifth victory in six matches on a hard court against the Spaniard, but it didn’t come easily at the start. Verdasco’s pinpoint serving helped him save all six break points he faced in the first set and take it to a tiebreaker.

Eventually, thanks to some generosity from Verdasco, Djokovic would rally from 5-3 down to take the tiebreaker, 10-8.

From there things went significantly smoother.

Djokovic hit 31 winners against 12 unforced errors in sets two and three, and once he notched his first break of serve early in the second, he wasn’t really troubled.

The No. 1 seed only connected on two of fourteen break points against the hard-serving southpaw, but it turned out to be more than enough down the stretch.

The four-time Aussie champion is bidding to become only the second player in the tournament’s history to win five titles. Aussie Roy Emerson won six between 1961 and 1967.

Djokovic will next face Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the fourth round. Muller upset John Isner in straight sets to attain his best ever Australian Open result. On day 4 he ended a nine-match losing streak against top-20 opponents when he beat Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets in the second round.

Djokovic and Muller have yet to meet head-to-head.

The world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion improved his all-time record at the Australian Open to 46-6 with his victory.