Novak Djokovic reaches third round of Australian Open | ATP tour | Tennis

Australian Open

Djokovic, in full control and moving freely, reaches Australian Open R3

Serbian is one win away from 400 victories at Slam level
January 22, 2026

Novak Djokovic cruised to a convincing second-round victory at the Australian Open on Thursday, as the record 10-time champion defeated Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Playing only his second match since winning his 101st tour-level title in Athens in November, the 38-year-old moved as efficiently as ever and struck the ball cleanly all afternoon, a positive sign for the Serb’s form in the early stages of the tournament.

Djokovic, who claimed his hundredth match victory at the Australian Open in the opening round, needed seven set points to win the 47-minute opener. Djokovic rarely relinquishes control in basic rallies and will be pleased with his dominant serving, having won 86 percent (43/50) of his first serve points.

Facing two break points in his opening service game of the second set, Djokovic was met with forehand return errors by the 23-year-old qualifier, who called his clash against the 24-time Major titlist “one of the most exciting things of my life”.

Djokovic is now one win away from 400 victories at Slam level. Should he defeat his next opponent, Botic van de Zandschulp or Shang Juncheng, Djokovic will become the first player to record 400 major match victories. Van de Zandschulp stunned Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells last year to level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. Djokovic has never played against Shang.

Djokovic makes his 21st appearance at Melbourne Park and is drawn against Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals and two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the last four.

Musetti breezed past compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to equal his career-best result at the first major of the season. The fifth seed created 23 break chances, six of which were converted, according to Infosys Stats. Musetti, 23, will next meet 31st seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Czech Tomas Machac.