By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic just let everybody know how focused he is on another Grand Slam championship title after extending his streak of sweeping set wins in the ongoing 2023 Australian Open.
Djokovic took down Andrey Rublev to punch a ticket in the Australian Open semifinals- 6.1, 6.2, 6.4- and extended his 3-0 winning streak to three following the sweep of Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov in the past two rounds.
Djokovic played a perfect game as his signature on-court mastery and tendency predictions, his perseverance to go after every drop ball, and his consistent service game was all on-point.
“I can’t be happier with my tennis, I was solid from the back of the court. I love these conditions, this court, it’s definitely special for me,” Djokovic said.
Rublev found no answer after Djokovic set the match’s tone when he held his first two service possessions.
After scoring a serve-and-volley sequence twice to take a 4-1 lead while piling up the forehand down-the-line bombs, it was pretty much over for Rublev who failed to neutralize Djokovic’s in-game rhythm that just kept on ramping up as the sets progressed.
Rublev revised his counter-plan and targeted Djokovic’s backhand but had little effect as the current world no. 4 tennis player showed no flaws in his game in the last two sets.
It was an impressive performance for Djokovic who tallied a total of 91 won points, 18 set games won, and a jaw-dropping nine-game winning streak in the middle of the match.
Despite a better performance from Rublev in the third and final set, Djokovic still rose to the occasion and took care of business.
Djokovic’s next test will be against Tommy Paul in the semifinals when they meet today in the Rod Laver Arena at 11:30 AM.
