Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International, maintaining his pursuit of a 100th ATP title with a comfortable 6-3 6-3 victory over Gael Monfils. Djokovic capitalized on his only break point opportunity in the first set, racing to a 4-1 lead and taking the set in just 36 minutes.
The 37-year-old Serb broke Monfils early in the second set and completed the win with another break at 5-3. Djokovic now faces Reilly Opelka in the quarter-finals, a player he has never faced before. Djokovic acknowledged Opelka's powerful serve and noted that he would need to adjust his game to handle the American's big-serving style.
Meanwhile, world number one Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-4 7-6 (7-2) victory over Yulia Putintseva. Sabalenka will now meet Marie Bouzkova, who triumphed 6-4 6-4 against former world number one Victoria Azarenka.
Other notable results saw Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina defeat China's Yue Yuan 6-1 6-4 to set up a quarter-final match against Australia's Kimberly Birrell, while Ashlyn Krueger will face Russia's Polina Kudermetova. Former world number two Ons Jabeur will also compete against Russia's Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals.
In other news from the Hong Kong Open, Russia's Andrey Rublev suffered a 5-7 6-3 3-6 defeat to Fabian Marozsan. The Hungarian will now face China's Juncheng Shang in the next round. British number two Cameron Norrie is also preparing for his quarter-final match against Kei Nishikori.
ADD A COMMENT :