Australian Open 2011: Novak Djokovic walks into round four
2008 champion, Novak Djokovic was the first to make it into the fourth round of the Australian Open after he received a walkover after only 39 minutes against compatriot Viktor Troicki on Friday.
Making his seventh trip to Melbourne Park, Djokovic is looking to recapture the Australian Open title after winning it in 2008 when he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. In 2009 and 2010, he could not go beyond the quarterfinal round.
Having dismissed Marcel Granollers and Ivan Dodig in earlier rounds, third seeded Djokovic was set to meet 29th seeded Troicki in the third round.
What was expected to be a hard-fought clash between the two countrymen, finished as soon as it started. Opening serve in the first set, Djokovic took the lead and clinched a 6-2 victory to go 1-0 up in the set score. However, before the second set could
begin, Troicki withdrew from the match due to a stomach illness, giving Djokovic an uncontested entry into the fourth round. Djokovic is the third seed after Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to receive walkovers in the event.
After the match a concerned Djokovic said, “I just heard that he had some struggles with his stomach muscle, but I wasn’t sure how serious it is. I didn’t know that he’s not able to serve… He obviously tried his best. It’s the third round of a Grand Slam.
It’s not the way you want to finish the tournament, definitely. It’s sad for him, but I have to move on.”
American Andy Roddick also moved ahead in the tournament. A veteran at the event, Roddick is competing for the tenth straight year though he has never made it past the semi-finals.
Hoping for a Grand Slam win in Melbourne Park, Roddick kicked off his run at the event enjoying straight set wins against Jan Hajek and Igor Kunitsyn. However, meeting Robin Haase in the third round Roddick hit a tiny bump.
Serving first in the opener, Haase broke serve twice to clinch a 6-2 victory. Trailing 1-0 in the set score, Roddick bounced back in the second set pushing it into a tiebreaker. The hard-hitting American hit powerful aces to clinch the tiebreaker 7-2. Maintaining
his form, Roddick registered twin set scores of 6-2, 6-2 in the next two sets to secure a four-set win over the Dutch.
In a match that last almost two hours, Roddick hit 32 aces, lost 34 of 110 points on service and converted 5 of 9 break points to move ahead in the event. He will play either Stanislas Wawrinka or Gael Monfils in the next round.
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