Djokovic Wins 17th Straight Down Under

Novak Djokovic and Radek Stepanek kept the crowds entertained throughout their third-round match in Melbourne, but it was the two-time defending champion who was all business when it mattered.

By Chris Oddo

(January 18, 2013) -- In a match that at times felt more like an exhibition than a third-round Grand Slam tilt, Novak Djokovic pulled past 34-year-old Radek Stepanek for his 17th consecutive Australian Open victory, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.

The victory was Djokovic’s eighth in nine tries against the Czech, and seventh in a row.

Despite going down in straight sets, Stepanek kept the crowd at Rod Laver Arena entertained with his daredevil brand of serve and volley tennis and showmanship.

“He loves the big stage,” said Djokovic. “You saw how much fun he had.”

Djokovic, who has now held serve 43 consecutive times in Melbourne, moves on to face Stan Wawrinka in the round of 16 this weekend. Wawrinka defeated the last American standing, Sam Querrey, in straight sets.

Djokovic fought off break points in the first and third set against his quirky opponent, but his biggest challenge might have been fighting off laughter when the Czech turned his back to him and bent over as the Serb prepared to knock off an easy winner for set point in the second set. It was one of many light-hearted moments in the match, but Stepanek's rare ability to handle a racquet like a magician at the net was surely no joke. Stepanek only won 36 of 67 points at net, but considering the caliber of baseline player he was facing, winning more than half of his forays was not bad at all, and it was good enough to keep all three sets close.

But when things were hanging in the balance, the two-time defending champion had more than enough racquet-wielding abilities get the job done with relative ease.

“It was three close sets,” Djokovic would say afterwards. “So it wasn’t an easy match.”

Djokovic’s Serbian Davis Cup teammate Janko Tipsarevic had a more difficult time in his third-round battle against Frenchman Julien Benneteau, but the 8th-seed also gained safe passage in the round of 16 with a grueling 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. The win puts Tipsarevic in the round of 16 in Melbourne for the first time and makes him the second Serb to reach the last 16 in all four Grand Slams.

Remarkably, the determined Tipsarevic notched his second consecutive five-set victory, and upped his career record in five-setters to an impressive 17-8 in the process.

“I am pretty fit at the moment, but these matches aren’t helping me,” lamented Tipsarevic. The Serb will have to face a much fresher 10th-seeded Nicolas Almagro in the round of 16. The Spaniard has won his last two matches in straight sets after taking out American Steve Johnson in five in the first round.

Tipsarevic’s possible quarterfinal opponent, 4th-seeded David Ferrer, cruised past crowd favorite Marcos Baghdatis in the final match of the night session, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, while 16th-seeded Kei Nishikori continued his run with a comfortable 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Russian Evgeny Donskoy.

Nishikori, who became the first Japanese player to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian in the Open era last year, will face Ferrer in the fourth round. Nishikori holds a 2-1 career advantage over Ferrer, having beaten him most recently in three sets at the London Olympics.

Elsewhere, Tomas Berdych set up a fourth-round clash with hard-hitting South African Kevin Anderson when he thumped Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Earlier in the day, Anderson had rallied from two sets to one down to defeat 22nd-seeded Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.

(Photo Credit: AP)