MELBOURNE—Novak Djokovic steamrolled local hope Alex de Minaur 6–2 6–1 6–2 on Monday to ease into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a statement win in his quest for a 10th title at the Grand Slam that has only been threatened by a hamstring issue.
It was Djokovic’s 38th consecutive win on Australian soil and the fewest number of games he has dropped in a match at the year’s first major since he lost four against Lucas Pouille in the semi-finals in 2019.
Asked after the match why he beat De Minaur the way he did, Djokovic replied: “Because I wanted to.”…