Published 20:04 IST, January 17th 2025
Novak Djoković Secures Spot in Australian Open's Fourth Round, Serb Picks A Convincing Sweep Over Tomas Machac
Novak Djokovic overcame breathing issues & played well in a straight-set win over 26th-seeded Tomas Machac to advance to the 4th round of the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic has been seeking a road to a resurgence in the Grand Slam title contention. The Serbian tennis star, who failed to clinch any titles in 2024, looks determined this year. At the Australian Open, Novak defeated two wild card debutants in the first two rounds. While he faced a bit of a challenge in the previous competition, Djokovic picked up a win in straight sets when he faced off against Tomas Machac in the third round. Everything went rather smoothly for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who is looking for a record-setting 25th title.
Novak Djokovic Defeats Tomas Machac, Moves Into 4th Round Of AO 2025
10-time Australian Open winner, Novak Djokovic, has moved into the fourth round of the 1st Grand Slam event of 2025, which is taking place at Melbourne Park. The Serbian delivered his most confident performance against Czech's Tomas Machac with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the 26th-seeded tennis player. Djokovic was only broken once during the less than two and a half-hour play, and he converted five of fifteen of Machac's serve attempts.
It was Djokovic's first straight-set victory this year in Melbourne, after getting pushed to four in the first round by 19-year-old Ninesh Basavareddy and in the second by 21-year-old Jaime Faria. Both opponents were making their Grand Slam debut. Post-play, Novak expressed his surprise over the result of the match-up.

“Very hot-headed right now, so I’m going to try to give a calm and diplomatic answer to that. I think I played really well. I’m very happy with my game. I was surprised, to be honest, with the result,” Djokovic said after the third-round match at the Rod Laver Arena.
Novak Djokovic Struggled with Breath, Still Overcame The Challenge
Djokovic appeared uneasy and clutched the right side of his rib cage at the end of the first game of the second set in Rod Laver Arena. Instead of simply walking around the net to the opposite baseline at the subsequent change of ends, he made the uncommon move of sitting on his sideline bench.
Djokovic surprisingly missed a drop shot to make it 15–40 in the very next game and then he leaned forward with his hands on his knees and his chest heaving. Then, after Djokovic missed a challenging volley, Machac converted the first break opportunity to take a 2-0 lead in that set. Djokovic also went back and forth with one particularly rowdy spectator and asked a trainer for help with his breathing. But in the end, the star tennis player gave it all and stood tall in the third round.
Novak will face No. 24 Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, with the winner possibly taking on No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
Updated 20:04 IST, January 17th 2025