Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic sails past Grigor Dimitrov, Andy Murray knocked out after marathon clash

Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic sails past Grigor Dimitrov, Andy Murray knocked out after marathon clash

Novak Djokovic beat Grigor Dimitrov to enter the fourth round of the Australian Open for the 15th time in his career while Andy Murray crashed out after losing to Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets.

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Saturday, January 21, 2023, 09:19 PM IST
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Australian Open: Novak Djokovic sails past Grigor Dimitrov to enter Round 4, bautista Agut knocks out Andy Murray in marathon clash

Former champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday after beating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets at the Rod Laver Arena.

Fourth-ranked Djokovic beat Bulgarian Dimitrov 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 to enter the fourth round of the Australian Open for the 15th time in his career. Djokovic has won the tournament a record 9 times in the past.

This year Djokovic is looking to repeat his heroics from the 2021 Australian Open, when he won the title despite dealing with an abdominal tear.

Entering this year's event with a left hamstring injury, the Serbian has managed the problem well so far, even if he required a medical timeout during his four-set win against Enzo Couacaud on Friday.

Andy Murray Knocked Out

Three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray was knocked out by Roberto Bautista Agut in a marathon clash that lasted over three hours on court.

Agut beat Murray 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 to move into the round of 16. Murray played over 14 hours of tennis in the tournament.

Meanwhile, a new record was set on Saturday for the highest attendance in Australian Open history with nearly 95,000 fans coming to watch the matches.

"Today was the biggest day in Australian Open attendance history with day attendance of 60,457, record night attendance of 34,397 (beating 2012’s 28,377) and a record combined day/night attendance of 94,854 (beating 2020’s 93,709)," the tournament organisers tweeted.

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