Australian Open: Djokovic dominates, Sabalenka in double bagel, Andreeva mental strength

Defending champion Novak Djokovic marked his 100th appearance at the Australian Open with a straigh-sets win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Friday.

Djokovic – chasing his 11th title Down Under and 25th Grand Slam crown – made no mistake against the Argentine, sealing a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 victory on Rod Laver Arena.

The world No 1, who has won 92 matches out of 100 played at Melbourne Park, has been struggling with illness and was well short of his best in his first two matches.

But the 36-year-old Serb looked much more like his usual self on his way to beating the 30th seed who had knocked out Andy Murray in the opening round.

It was Djokovic's 31st win in a row in the season's opening Grand Slam and he has not lost a match in the tournament since falling to South Korea's Chung Hyeon in the last 16 in 2018.

“It was a great match, the best performance I've had during this tournament and obviously I'm pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets,” said Djokovic.

31 - Novak Djokovic is the second player to win more than 30 consecutive Singles match at the Australian Open in the Open Era after Monica Seles (33 consecutive wins between 1991 and 1999). Wave.#ausopen | @AustralianOpen @atptour pic.twitter.com/vmCS7DkFwQ

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff – seeded two and four, respectively – coasted into the next round in impressive fashion.

With fellow top 10 seeds Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Marketa Vondrousova and Maria Sakkari already out, the duo will fancy their chances of progressing far in Melbourne.

Defending champion Sabalenka smashed 28th seed Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-0 on Rod Laver Arena, taking just 52 minutes to wipe out the Ukrainian.

“Last year Iga [Swiatek] won