Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic achieved a unique feat after winning his 31st consecutive match at the Australian Open on Friday.
Djokovic defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-2) to reach the fourth round.
According to Opta, 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).
Djokovic is on track to win his 25th Grand Slam title, which would take him ahead of the all-time record held by Australian Margaret Court.
He will face France's Adrian Mannarino or American Ben Shelton in the next round.
Djokovic had needed four sets to beat both Dino Prizmic and Alexei Popyrin in his first two rounds in Melbourne but the 36-year-old looked in better form against Etcheverry. He played some good ground strokes from the deep and consistently found angles to keep his opponent on the move.
“It was a great match, I think. The best performance I had during this tournament,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “Obviously I’m pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets.
“He stepped it up, raised his level of tennis probably one or two levels in the third set and we went toe-to-toe. In the tie-break I guess I just found the right shots, the right serves, and closed it out in straights.”
Etcheverry did well during his wins against Andy Murray and Gael Monfils in straight sets this week in Melbourne but the Argentine didn’t have many answers for Djokovic.