Djokovic advances to 9th straight 4th round at Aussie Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Novak Djokovic advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the ninth consecutive year with a 7-6 (8), 6-3, 6-4 win over Fernando Verdasco on Saturday.
Four-time champion Djokovic won the tiebreaker on his fourth set point when Verdasco hit consecutive shots wide.
The No. 1-ranked Djokovic broke the Spanish left-hander at the start of the second set, then saved two break points with consecutive aces to take a 3-0 lead.
There was some levity at the end of the second set when a man in the Rod Laver Arena crowd proposed to his girlfriend, offering her a ring. When the woman said yes, many in the capacity crowd of 15,000 applauded, as did Djokovic from his courtside chair.
Boris Becker, coach of Novak Djokovic of Serbia, watches his play against Fernando Verdasco of Spain during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The Associated Press
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