Djokovic eases past Etcheverry into last 16

Djokovic will be the first to admit that – by his high standards – it hasn’t been the most straightforward of weeks.

The 36-year-old has been managing a wrist injury, and has been under the weather with a cold.

He dropped sets against qualifier Dino Prizmic and unseeded Australian Alexei Popyrin during his opening two rounds, and even had to deal with a heckler towards the end of that four-set win against Popyrin.

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As soon as he started what was his third meeting with the 24-year-old from La Plata, though, there was a more clinical look to his tennis.

By the time they shook hands after two hours and 28 minutes on court, Djokovic had struck 34 winners and didn’t face a single break point all night.