Djokovic in the third round of Melbourne, outside Zverev and Rudd

But Djokovic, seeking his 10th victory in Australia and his 22nd Grand Slam win and thus a tie with record holder Nadal, had to beat France’s Enzo Quacode. After losing quickly in the first round, the world number 191 picked up the pace and surprisingly took the second set. However, Djokovic was unimpressed by a medical time-out to treat an injured groin, nor by Quakod’s ambitious performance.

Even the disruptive quartet dressed in colorful outfits in the stands, kicked out of the hall at Djokovic’s prodding, could no longer derail the Serbs. The world number five did not allow Kokod to come close to winning a set and finally confidently established his third-round duel with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, whom he called his “Balkan brother” in the interview afterwards. “A lot happened today,” said Djokovic, who is concerned about the muscle problems he’s been having for the past two weeks. “Honestly, it’s not good at all,” Djokovic answered in an interview with Eurosport when asked about the condition of his thigh: “I look from day to day. I felt better in the last match than today. It’s God’s right to help me. Me.”

Rod, on the other hand, has to cry over a missed opportunity. With the final in Melbourne, the 24-year-old could have topped the world rankings for the first time. The current number three in the ranking is now rejected. After Nadal and Ruud left, there were originally four players who could have replaced Carlos Alcaraz on the tennis throne, leaving only the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Djokovic. If neither of these players win the championship, the missing Spaniard Alcaraz remains in first place.

Rudd trailed from the start to Broxby, who had already reached the semi-finals of the pre-season tournament in Auckland the previous week. The outsider already had three match points on his serve in the third set. After three hours and 56 minutes he won by 6: 3.7: 5.6: 7 (4), 6: 2. Ruud never advanced past the round of 16 at the Australian Open. Last year’s French Open and US Open finalist, who has been strong on the hard courts, will have to wait for his first Grand Slam title.

After the second set, Rudd took a medical time-out. He had problems in the abdominal muscles. “It’s something I’ve felt over and over again over the past two years,” the Norwegian explained. “Nothing serious but he keeps coming back so I have to take care of him.” Things went better for Rod after timeout, but in the end he had to admit to Broxby’s strength.

“Casper is a fighter. I’m proud of my mental toughness out there,” declared the winner. Brooksby, like Mackenzie McDonald, who failed the injured Nadal the day before, comes from California. In the third round, the 22-year-old, who had to postpone his Australian Open debut last year due to the Covid disease, will meet fellow American Tommy Poole.

Fifth-seeded Russian Andrei Robleau had to deal with Britain’s Dan Evans in the third round after his opening victory against Dominic Thiem. In his second match against Finn Emil Russofori, Rublev lost a set unlike the match against the Austrian, but won 6: 2, 6: 4, 6: 7 (2), 6: 3. Rubleo is a potential opponent in the quarterfinals of record winner Djokovic, and should That they both win all their matches by then.

In the same half of the grid, American Taylor Fritz, number eight, also lost with 7: 6 (4), 6: 7 (2), 4: 6, 7: 6 (6), 2: 6 against Australian Alexei. Popyrin and Zverev with 7:6 (1), 4:6, 3:6, 2:6 against Mmoh, who slipped into the main draw as a lucky loser. The German missed the third round for the first time since his Melbourne debut in 2016. Seven and a half months after suffering a serious foot injury in the French Open semi-finals, the 25-year-old was far from his best.

“It wasn’t enough from me. But I don’t have to blame myself,” said Zverev, who had already struggled in his five-set victory over Peruvian Juan Pablo Farias. “I didn’t have any expectations. At least now I know where I am physically.” The two-time ATP Finals winner grabbed his hamstring multiple times against Mmoh. This is not enough: in the second sentence, a bird is resting itself on Zverev’s head.

Then Andy Murray grabbed a late-night victory. The 35-year-old Scotsman defeated Australian Thansi Kokkinakis after a marathon match 4: 6: 6: 7 (4), 7: 6 (5), 6: 3, 7: 5. The match ended after 4 am local time. Murray already in the first round showed his fighting qualities against Matteo Berrettini.

In the women’s match, Tunisian second seed Anas Jaber lost to Czech Marketa Vondrousova 1: 6, 7: 5, 1: 6. The Wimbledon and US Open finals seemed inappropriate and he lost with 50 unforced errors. Number 16, Estonian Anett Kontaveit, who knocked out Austria’s Julia Graber at the start, was beaten by Paul Magda Linette 6: 3.3: 6.4: 6. The end also came to the ninth seed of the Russian championship Veronika Kudermatova. She lost to American qualifier Katie Volynets 4:6.6:2.2:6. Caroline Garcia (FRA-4) and Aryna Sabalenka (BLR-5) on the other side after two rounds without dropping a set.