Australian Open—Melbourne, Australia
Nine-time former winner Novak Djokovic took another step toward claiming his 10th title at the Australian Open on Saturday, defeating No. 27 seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(7), 6-3, 6-4.
In a match that lasted three hours and seven minutes, Djokovic struck 11 aces, broke serve on five occasions and poured in 28 winners during the straight set affair.
Djokovic will next face No. 22 seed Alex de Minaur, who dismissed Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-1.
Elsewhere, (5) Andrey Rublev, (9) Holger Rune, (24) Roberto Bautista Agut, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and J.J. Wolf all advanced to the final 16.
On the women’s side, No. 5 seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her quest to win her first career Major by dispatching No. 26 seed Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3.
Sabalenka’s aggressive baseline game and improved serving numbers will be tough to defeat for the remainder of the event. She will next face No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic, who won against Camila Giorgi 6-2, 7-5.
Other women’s winners on the day included: (4) Caroline Garcia, (23) Shuai Zhang, (30) Karolina Pliskova, Donna Vekic, Linda Fruhvirtova and Magda Linette.
Sunday’s action in Melbourne will feature No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek, No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 7 seed Coco Gauff and No. 6 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Fourth-Round Results:
(4) Novak Djokovic Defeats (27) Grigor Dimitrov 76(7) 63 64
(5) Andrey Rublev Defeats (25) Daniel Evans 64 62 63
(9) Holger Rune Defeats Ugo Humbert 64 62 76(5)
(22) Alex de Minaur Defeats Benjamin Bonzi 76(0) 62 61
(24) Roberto Bautista Agut Defeats Andy Murray 61 67(7) 63 64
Tommy Paul Defeats Jenson Brooksby 61 64 63
Ben Shelton Defeats Alexei Popyrin 63 76(4) 64
J.J. Wolf Defeats Michael Mmoh 64 61 62
