australian open
Djokovic takes complete control and moves freely to reach Australian Open R3
Serbia just one win away from reaching 400 Grand Slam wins
January 22, 2026
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic makes his 21st appearance at the Australian Open.
Grant Thompson
Novak Djokovic eased to victory in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday, as the record-breaking 10-time champion defeated Francesco Mastrelli 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
It was the 38-year-old’s second match since winning his 101st Tour title in Athens last November, and he was moving as efficiently as ever, hitting clean shots throughout the afternoon, a positive sign for the Serb’s form early in the tournament.
Djokovic, who won his 100th Australian Open match in the first round, needed seven set points to seal victory in the 47-minute opener. Djokovic rarely relinquishes control in baseline faceoffs and will be pleased with his dominant service performance, winning 86% (43/50) of his first serve points.
When Djokovic faced two break points in the first service game of the second set, the 23-year-old qualifier made a forehand return error and before the match he called his encounter with the 24-time Grand Slam champion “one of the most exciting things in my life.”
Djokovic is now one win away from reaching 400 wins at the Grand Slam level. If Djokovic defeats his next opponent Botik van der Zandschulp or Shang Juncheng, he will become the first player to achieve 400 major match victories. Last year, Van de Zandschulp defeated Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells to level the Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. Djokovic has never played against Shang.
This is Djokovic’s 21st appearance at Melbourne Park. He will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals and two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
Musetti defeated compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, matching his career best in his first Grand Slam match of the season. According to Infosys Stats, the fifth seed created 23 break chances and broke serve six times. The 23-year-old Musetti will next face No. 31 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Czech Tomas Machac.
