By Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic systematically dismantled Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli 6-3 6-2 6-2 on Thursday to reach the Australian Open third round, continuing his quest to make more history at the Rod Laver Arena.
Fourth seed Djokovic, who is seeking a record-extending 11th Melbourne Park title and 25th Grand Slam trophy overall to break the deadlock with Margaret Court, maintained his steady grip on the second-round clash without needing to shift into top gear.
“I didn’t know much about him (Maestrelli) until a few days ago, it happens more often than not these days,” Djokovic said about his 23-year-old opponent.
“But the respect is always there and I didn’t underestimate him. He’s got a big serve and a big game, only lacking a bit of experience. He’s got the game to go far and high in the world rankings and I wish him that.”
The 38-year-old raced through the opening set on the back of a break in the second game and pounced again in the opening game of the next set to heap pressure on world number 141 Maestrelli, who struggled to capitalise on his few openings.
Djokovic brought up set point with an acrobatic backhand and secured the set with an unreturned shot from the same flank to close in on his 399th Grand Slam match victory, and his 101st in Melbourne, leaving him one shy of record‑holder Roger Federer.
Maestrelli had a rare moment of joy in the third set as he recovered a break after conceding two, but Djokovic raised his level again to close out the victory and book a meeting with either Botic van de Zandschulp or Juncheng Shang.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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