Djokovic Reaches the Australian Open Quarterfinals, Matching Federer’s Grand Slam Record

 Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his fourth round match against France's Adrian Mannarino. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his fourth round match against France's Adrian Mannarino. (Reuters)
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Djokovic Reaches the Australian Open Quarterfinals, Matching Federer’s Grand Slam Record

 Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his fourth round match against France's Adrian Mannarino. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2024 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his fourth round match against France's Adrian Mannarino. (Reuters)

Novak Djokovic was ruthless in a 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 win over Adrian Mannarino on Sunday, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals and matching Roger Federer's all-time Grand Slam record.

In a rare daytime appearance on Rod Laver Arena, the 10-time Australian Open champion hit 31 winners and raced to victory in 1 hour and 44 minutes to progress to the last eight for the 58th time at a major, equaling Federer's record.

Djokovic is into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the 14th time, which is equal second on the all-time list with Rafael Nadal and John Newcombe. The difference is that he's converted most of those quarterfinal runs into titles at Melbourne Park.

He'll next face No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time with a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, the runner-up here last year.

"I think I served well, the whole match, it kept me in it," said Fritz, after his first victory over a top 10 player at a major. "And then at the very end when I really needed it, I feel like I just, I turned it up a level and started playing my absolute best tennis to finish it."

Djokovic, who labored in his first two rounds, believes he's starting to hit his stride.

"The first two sets were some of the best sets I’ve played in a while," said Djokovic, who is bidding for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam singles title. "I played great from the first to the last point."

He added, in jest: "I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building in the stadium.

The 35-year-old Mannarino had gone to five sets in all three of his previous rounds. After missing a break point in the opening game, he almost never threatened Djokovic.

The Frenchman avoided a so-called triple-bagel – only five Grand Slam matches in the Open era have been won 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 – but he was only postponing the inevitable.

Djokovic has admitted to feeling unwell in recent rounds but said his health is improving.

"Last couple of days have been really good," he said. "It’s going in a positive direction, health-wise, tennis-wise."

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and US Open winner Coco Gauff cruised into the women's quarterfinals with commanding wins.

No. 2-ranked Sabalenka, who won her first Slam title here last year, beat Amanada Anisimova 6-3, 6-2. Gauff, who picked up her first major at the US Open in September, beat Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-2.

Anisimova had won four of their previous five meetings, but she didn't have the answers this time to counter the power of the Belarusian, who hit 18 winners.

"I’m super-happy with the level, happy to get this win, she’s a tough opponent," Sabalenka said. "I love the atmosphere here, I love playing in front of you guys. I really want to stay as long as possible and hopefully we can get this thing one more time."

A brief rain delay at 4-1 in the first set stopped Sabalenka’s momentum but she quickly recovered and pulled away in the second set. She’ll meet either 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva or No. 9 Barbora Krejcikova in the last eight.

Gauff was the first woman through, needing just 63 minutes to see off Frech in a match played on Rod Laver Arena — in front of the Australian great.

"Luckily when I saw him come in I was already well up," Gauff said. "I heard clapping and knew it wasn’t for us, it was only the first set. But thank you for coming, it’s an honor."

Gauff will play Marta Kostyuk after the Ukrainian beat Maria Tomafeeva 6-2, 6-1 to reach the major quarterfinals for the first time.

Still a teenager, Gauff drew attention to her shoes, which carry a number of messages, including one that says: "You can change the world with your racket," something her father told her as a little girl.



Paris Saint-Germain Looks to Clinch a Record-extending 13th French League Title

(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
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Paris Saint-Germain Looks to Clinch a Record-extending 13th French League Title

(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
(FILES) A photograph taken on November 23, 2020 shows a logo of Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

The one-sided Ligue 1 title race could end on Saturday, with Paris Saint-Germain needing only a draw at home against Angers to clinch a record-extending 13th crown.

PSG's massive 21-point lead means it would have to lose the next seven games and Monaco win them all to overtake the Parisians, who are unbeaten in 27 league games, the Associated Press said.

PSG could finish the league campaign unbeaten, although coach Luis Enrique's side still has to play Nice and has a tricky match away to Strasbourg, with both opponents locked in a tight battle to qualify for next season's Champions League.

This season's Champions League, too, is in Luis Enrique’s thoughts.

Good time to rest players? With a quarterfinal first-leg match against Aston Villa coming up in Paris on Wednesday, PSG can afford to rest several key players against Angers. Coach Alexandre Dujeux's side is 14th and has lost four straight league games without scoring a goal, conceding 11.

However, Enrique is not fond of squad rotation so may field close to a full-strength team at Parc des Princes.

How can PSG lose a game? It is hard to see how, given that PSG has not dropped any points since a 1-1 draw at home to Reims on Jan. 25, winning eight straight games.

A glimmer of hope for PSG's remaining opponents is that the team starts slowly and is prone to conceding early goals.

PSG fell behind early against Saint-Etienne last weekend, and it trailed 2-0 within 27 minutes to second-tier Dunkerque in the French Cup semifinal on Tuesday. PSG ended up winning both matches and scoring 10 goals in the process, but there is still a significant weakness against set-pieces and crosses.

Rosenior makes his mark One of the biggest success stories this season has been Strasbourg's remarkable rise to sixth place under English coach Liam Rosenior.

Even more so considering it is his first season, and that he had only two weeks of preseason preparation with his new players.

Led by striker Emanuel Emegha (12 goals), the Alsace-based side has lost only once in the past 14 league games to join the chase for a Champions League spot.

Rosenior's team is on a four-game winning run heading into Sunday’s trip to play relegation-threatened Reims. It is one point behind fourth-place Nice and three behind third-place Marseille, with the top four qualifying.

“I will never stop my players dreaming,” Rosenior said about making the Champions League. “Of course it's possible.”

He'll find out soon enough.

Strasbourg has back-to-back games against Nice and Monaco this month and, with the race so tight, may need to beat PSG on May 4.

Marseille is in a slump Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi was fuming with his players after last Saturday's 3-1 loss at struggling Reims.

So was midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who questioned the attitude of his teammates.

With good reason, as Marseille's third straight defeat allowed Monaco to move into second place.

But De Zerbi may want to look a bit deeper. Perhaps he should not have allowed his players to get so carried away when, after beating Lyon 3-2 in February, they embarked on a lap of honor and posed for a giant team photo as if they'd won a trophy.

Marseille has lost four out of seven games since. Fans will be looking for a home win against Toulouse on Sunday.