Melbourne:Former champions Roger Federer and Novac Djokovic on Friday progresses to the fourth round of the ongoing Australian Open.
While Federer scraped his way to the next round after winning a five-set thriller against John Millman of Australia, Djokovic outclassed Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
The world number three defeated Millman in the third-round 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 in about four hours and five minutes.
This is the 18th time that Federer has managed to progress to the fourth round of the Australian Open. It was also Federer's 100th match in the tournament.
Millman outclassed Federer in the first set, winning it 6-4. However, the Swiss staged a comeback in the second and third set, and was looking dominant.
Sending the cat among the pigeons, Millman once again bounced back in the fourth set, to take the match into the final set.
In the final set, both Millman and Federer went back and forth and it was poised well at 5-5. The match went into the tie break and Millman maintained a lead in the beginning.
However, Federer staged a remarkable comeback to win the match and progress to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The defending champion Djokovic on Friday produced jaw-dropping serve stats to reach the fourth round. Djokovic hammered 17 aces and lost only eight points on serve (54/62) to make his 12th appearance in the second week in Melbourne.
"Definitely one of the best serving matches I've had lately [and] inspired by my coach, Goran Ivanisevic. There are a lot of technical details you can talk about, but sometimes less is more. It's all about the rhythm and balance... So far, it's been working really well," Djokovic said.
A record seven-time winner in Melbourne, Djokovic set up a clash with Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round.
