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Djokovic fries Frenchman

Djokovic fries Frenchman

01/21/2012 04:44:01 AM

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Defending champion Novak Djokovic's irresistible charge has continued on Day Six of the Australian Open while French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was just as impressive as he also advanced to the fourth round.

And a year after going out in the semis at Melbourne Park, Spanish No.5 seed David Ferrer recovered from an early 0-4 deficit to also reach the last 16 along with French 17th seed Richard Gasquet, who upset ninth-seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

World No.1 Djokovic, who also won the Australian Open title four years ago, was again in a hurry as he capitalised on an injured opponent, casting aside Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-0 6-1 6-1 in just 74 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

Having also demolished both Italian Paolo Lorenzi and Colombian Santiago Giraldo earlier in the week, Djokovic has conceded just 10 games in three matches and spent an average of a tick under 90 minutes on the court.

Djokovic crashed 31 winners past Mahut, the man who famously lost 70-68 in the deciding set against American John Isner at Wimbledon in 2010, and committed just eight unforced errors in the sublime display.

The win means Djokovic will meet the winner of Saturday night's centre-court clash between veteran local hero Lleyton Hewitt and Canadian rising star Milos Raonic.

Earlier, Tsonga gave Portugal's Frederico Gil an almighty hiding, dumping his helpless opponent 6-2 6-2 6-2 in just 91 minutes to confirm his own place in the last 16.

The No.6 seed, who was beaten by Djokovic in the 2008 final at Melbourne Park and then also made the semi-finals here two years ago, was in a ruthless mood at Hisense Arena as he blasted Gil off the court.

Tsonga was unbelievably efficient when presented with opportunities on Gil's serve, breaking the first five times he had the chance to as he eventually finished with six from seven overall, with two breaks in each set.

Gil actually had a better first-serve percentage than his opponent, landing 71 percent to only 54, but Tsonga was far better at converting them with 84 percent of his to only 48 and he struck 35 winners for the match compared to just 13 from Gil.

Having only once been to the second round of a Grand Slam from 13 attempts before this week, 12 months ago at the Australian Open, Gil's inexperience as a third-round first-timer showed as he was completely overwhelmed.

On the six occasions he did have the chance to break Tsonga's serve, Gil was unable to do so, the worst example coming in the second game of the match when he led 0-40 but then lost five points in a row as Tsonga eventually held.

Tsonga's next opponent on Monday will be either Japanese No.24 seed Kei Nishikori, who boasts a 2-0 win-loss record against the Frenchman including the most recent just last week at Kooyong, or his compatriot Julien Bennetau, with the pair locked at 4-4 in their eight career meetings to date.

After trailing badly having dropped his opening two service games, Ferrer came to life in a big way as he ran right over the top of Chela, winning 19 of the last 23 games from that point to set up a clash with Gasquet in a 7-5 6-2 6-1 result,

Gasquet, though, has now matched his best performance at the Australian Open, having also reached the final 16 in 2007 and '08, following his one-sided 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory over an out-of-sorts Tipsarevic.

British No.4 seed Andy Murray, last year's beaten finalist, will duel with Michael Lllodra, with either Llodra's 14th-seeded countryman Gael Monfils or Kazakhstani Mikhail Kukushkin to meet the winner.

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images
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