Djokovic through as Williams smashes record

Melbourne, Jan 17: Defending champion Novak Djokovic charged into the Australian Open fourth round today and Serena Williams smashed the 39-year-old record for wins at the tournament as a sweltering heatwave finally eased.
Djokovic, gunning for a fourth straight victory at the season’s first Grand Slam, simply had too much firepower against Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin as he racked up his 24th consecutive win in Melbourne.
The world number two is also unbeaten since last year’s US Open, making him narrow favourite over hot rival and 13-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, whom he cannot meet until the final.
Djokovic, 26, eased through the first two sets and, after being broken for the first time when serving for the match, he broke straight back and wound it up 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
“Things got tense towards the end of the match. I made some double-faults. This is what happens,” he said. “I could have easily got into a tiebreak and then it’s very even, very unpredictable who is going to win the third.
“I didn’t want to drop the third set, obviously, so I was very focused to get the job done in straight sets.”
Djokovic, playing in the evening, benefited in a sharp drop in temperatures which have topped 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for four days straight, one of Melbourne’s most severe heatwaves.
Earlier, Williams opened the day’s events on a baking hot Rod Laver Arena but she appeared untroubled as she beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round for the loss of 12 games.
Shielded from the sun by a pink cap, the 32-year-old world number one wielded a killer serve as she overpowered the Slovak in 80 minutes, setting up a meeting with Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic.(Agencies)

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