“Start putting part of his initials on the trophy now,” Rod Laver applauds Novak Djokovic’s on-court heroics with a groundbreaking statement amidst the Serb’s dream Australian Open run

Novak Djokovic defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 in the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open.

“Start putting part of his initials on the trophy now,” Rod Laver applauds Novak Djokovic’s on-court heroics with a groundbreaking statement amidst the Serb’s dream Australian Open run

Novak Djokovic (L), Rod Laver (R) (Sources: Sky Sports, Intercontinental Melbourne de Rialto)

Novak Djokovic registered yet another sensational win in the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open today against Adrian Mannarino. He defeated the Frenchman 6-0, 6-0, 6-2 in no time. With this, he has cruised past the quarterfinals in style. 

After his win against Mannarino, legendary Australian tennis player Rod Laver remarked that the organizers should already start putting Novak’s initials on the trophy. 

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I have to believe unless someone miraculously plays their best tennis to knock him off, they can start putting part of his initials on the trophy now.
Laver said

The 11-time Grand Slam singles title winner said that Novak Djokovic is so good that when he loses even a single set, it feels like he is taking it lightly and just having some fun before eventually upping his game to win the match.

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He praised the plethora of shots that the Serb has in his arsenal and mentioned that it is extremely difficult for any player to defeat him at this point. 

He has all the shots, he knows exactly when he can play them, when he can't play them. He's priming himself to get through to the final. It almost unfolds in front of him, what he should be doing. He's a great champion. He serves well. His groundstrokes are unbeatable.
Rod Laver said. 

Novak Djokovic is set to face Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals 

In an unexpected turn of events, Taylor Fritz has defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets in the fourth round. The American won the match 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 without much struggle and thus headed into the quarterfinals with much confidence.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Source: BBC)

He will now face top seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in what is set to be perhaps his most difficult challenge in this tournament. 

Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz have played a total of eight matches against each other and the American has never been able to defeat the Serb even once so far.

They met most recently in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open, where the Serb registered a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory in straight sets. 

Needless to say, Taylor Fritz will have to drop the best performance of his life to upset Novak Djokovic in this match. The Serb was defeated by Alex de Minaur a few days ago, which proves that he is a mere mortal and can be defeated.

But the fact that the World No. 1 makes so few mistakes is what makes him so difficult to beat on any surface. 

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