Novak Djokovic made an ominous statement after easily defeating Tomas Etcheverry at the Australian Open

With an easy victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic returned to form.

The ten-time champion has been battling illness, and he wasn’t at his best in his opening two matches, especially the second-round encounter on Wednesday against Alexei Popyrin, which he was fortunate to avoid.

However, in his 100th match at Melbourne Park, Djokovic defeated Argentina’s Etcheverry, who had defeated Andy Murray in the opening round, 6-3 6-3 7-6 (2), looking much more like the player he usually is.

The Serbian was returning to his usual furious groundstrokes, and even though he might have made a few more errors than he would have preferred, he was always in complete control of his 92nd victory on these grounds.

“It was a great match, the best performance I had this tournament,” stated Djokovic. I’m happy with the way I performed for the whole match, especially the opening two sets.

Jannik Sinner, the fourth seed, and Alex De Minaur, the big home hope, have been the standout players in the first week.

Sinner easily advanced to the fourth round of this tournament after leading Italy to the Davis Cup championship by defeating Djokovic twice in a single day at the end of last season.

He defeated Sebastian Baez 6-0 6-1 6-3, dropping just four games in the process, earning a match against Russian Karen Khachanov, a semifinalist at this tournament the year before.

Sinner said: “Today’s match was really good. I played good tennis. I love the conditions also today, because was no wind and no sun.

“I felt great… I made the right decisions and I used every chance I had today, which maybe in the first match I was struggling a little bit. But it’s good to have this match feeling back again. I’m very excited to step on the court every time.

“I’m doing my job. I try to stay focused. I try to find a solution against every player I play. The next round is going to be different, it’s going to be tough.”

Khachanov, who has advanced to the quarterfinals in three of his previous four grand slams, faced more difficulty in his 6-4 7-6 (4) 4-6 7-6 (5) victory over Tomas Machac.

De Minaur’s ascent into the top 10 prior to the competition stoked expectations for the men’s singles champion to win the title at home for the first time since Mark Edmondson in 1976. Thus far, he has handled the pressure flawlessly.

Khachanov, who has reached the quarterfinals in three of his past four grand slams, had more trouble defeating Tomas Machac in his match, 6-4 7-6 (4) 4-6 7-6 (5).

Expectations were high for the men’s singles champion to win the title at home for the first time since Mark Edmondson in 1976 after De Minaur surged into the top 10 before the tournament. So far, he’s performed admirably under pressure.