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Novak Djokovic struggled with a leg injury in the Australian Open's first three rounds. Novak left the issue behind ahead of the fourth-round duel versus Alex de Minaur, destroying the home favorite 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic had the upper hand from start to finish, sealing the deal in two hours and six minutes and moving into his 13th Australian Open quarter-final. Untroubled with his movement, Novak left Alex far behind, dominating on serve and return and sailing into the last eight.
De Minaur felt the pressure from start to finish, taking only five games and suffering a heavy loss in front of the home fans. Novak had the upper hand in every segment, taming his strokes nicely and sending a clear message to his opponents.
The Aussie had no answers for the rival on the other side of the net, staying below ten winners and never earning a break point. The Serb grabbed over half of the return points, easily sending the rival's serves back and imposing his strokes.
Novak delivered six breaks from 12 opportunities, more than enough to emerge over the top in style.
Novak Djokovic scored a dominant win over Alex de Minaur in Melbourne.
Novak dropped five points behind the initial shot in the opening set.
He delivered two breaks for a reliable start and a boost. Alex stayed in touch until 2-2 before fading from the court for good. The Serb broke at love in game six after the Aussie's forehand error, moving 4-2 in front and holding at love in the next one to cement the advantage.
Djokovic secured another break in the eighth game after de Minaur's loose forehand, wrapping up the opener in 35 minutes. Novak served well in the second set, challenging his rival to follow those numbers to stay in touch. Alex could not do that, losing serve two times in a row and falling far behind.
The Serb cracked a mighty forehand in the second game for an early break. Djokovic seized the fifth break chance in the fourth game after de Minaur's backhand error, extending the gap and securing his ninth consecutive game with a service winner at 4-0.
The home star avoided a bagel before Novak landed a backhand crosscourt winner a few minutes later for a 6-2, 6-1 advantage after an hour and 15 minutes. Djokovic broke at the beginning of the third set and repeated that at 2-0 after de Minaur's wayward backhand.
Novak forced Alex's mistake for 4-0 and held at 30 in game six, moving 5-1 in front and forcing his rival to serve to stay in the match. Djokovic created a match point with a volley winner, and de Minaur erased it with a rare ace.
Alex held with another powerful serve, reducing the deficit to 5-2. Novak served for the victory in game eight and fired an unreturned serve for a dominant triumph and a place in the quarter-final.