By Michael Church
MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic brushed aside Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli 6-3 6-2 6-2 on Thursday to reach the Australian Open third round, as women’s champion Madison Keys overcame a second-set wobble against Ashlyn Krueger to also advance.
Fourth seed Djokovic, seeking a record-extending 11th Melbourne Park title and 25th Grand Slam trophy overall to break the deadlock with Margaret Court, maintained his steady grip on the second-round clash without needing to shift into top gear.
“I didn’t know much about him (Maestrelli) until a few days ago, it happens more often than not these days,” Djokovic said about his 23-year-old opponent.
“But the respect is always there and I didn’t underestimate him. He’s got a big serve and a big game, only lacking a bit of experience. He’s got the game to go far and high in the world rankings and I wish him that.”
Djokovic, 38, raced through the opening set and pounced again in the opening game of the second set to heap pressure on world number 141 Maestrelli.
The win was Djokovic’s 399th Grand Slam match victory, and his 101st in Melbourne, leaving him one shy of record‑holder Roger Federer. Djokovic will next meet Botic van de Zandschulp.
MUSETTI DOWNS PAL SONEGO IN STRAIGHT SETS
Lorenzo Musetti, the fifth seed, won the battle of the Italians on Margaret Court Arena as he defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 6-3 6-4 and will next face either Stefano Tsitsipas or Tomas Machac.
“It was not an easy match to prepare, to play, and to deal with because Lorenzo is one of my best friends on tour,” said Musetti.
“We recently had a title together in doubles, so we shared a lot of nice memories, so it’s not easy to separate those things in the court.”
Eighth seeded Ben Shelton had few issues against Australia’s Dane Sweeny, the American claiming a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win to set up a third round meeting with Valentin Vacherot, who defeated Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in straight sets.
KEYS STUMBLES ON WAY TO WIN OVER KRUEGER
Women’s title holder Keys, the ninth seed in the draw, notched up a 6-1 7-5 win over fellow American Krueger but was less than convincing after powering her way through the opening set.
The defending champion allowed doubts to creep into her game in the second set, handing Krueger two breaks on serve with a succession of double faults before battling back to progress to the next round to face Karolina Pliskova.
“I started really well, and I think Ashlyn started a little slow, and then I was fully expecting her to raise her level, which she did,” Keys said.
“Once I kind of got that momentum, I tried to sink my teeth into the set, and do whatever I could to get back into it.”
Sixth seed Jessica Pegula had few issues against doubles partner McCartney Kessler, handing out a comprehensive 6-0 6-2 defeat to her fellow American in 58 minutes and set up a meeting with Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva in the third round.
Amanda Anisimova, also from the United States, booked her place in the next phase with a 6-1 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova and the fourth seed will next face compatriot Peyton Stearns.
Play continues on Thursday when defending men’s champion Jannik Sinner takes on Australian wildcard James Duckworth, while women’s second seed Iga Swiatek meets Marie Bouzkova and twice champion Naomi Osaka plays Sorana Cirstea.
(Reporting by Michael Church and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry)
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