Novak Djokovic storms past Tatsuma Ito to reach Australian Open third round
Novak Djokovic continued his Australian Open title defence with a routine straight sets victory over Tatsuma Ito to reach the third round.
The 32-year-old came storming out of the blocks to wrap up the first set in just 22 minutes.
The no.2 seed was forced to dig deep in the second set to fend off the challenge from the Japanese.
But the seven-time winner broke late on and cruised through the third to seal a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory in an hour and 35 minutes.
The pace and devastating accuracy Djokovic was finding in the first set simply blew Ito away. Indeed, he went up a double break with a 5-0 lead inside a quarter of an hour.
When Ito finally got on the board, it drew applause from the crowd but it felt more patronising than sincere - and it was no surprise to see Djokovic take the lead just seven minutes later.
The second set triggered a response from Ito, who was starting to make life difficult for Djokovic as he struggled to cope with the windy conditions.
But Djokovic was enjoying one of his best serving displays in recent memory, with 16 aces and an incredible 93 per cent of first serve points won.
By the third set, Ito had thrown in the towel somewhat and when he conceded a double break, it was all over.
Djokovic remained professional throughout before sealing the match with a fine ace to send out a warning to his rivals as he lines up a record eighth title in Australia.
