Djokovic and Roddick advance

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:15

Djokovic needed four sets to get past big-serving Amer Delic 6-2 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4), while Roddick stepped up his performance to beat Fabrice Santoro, the oldest man in the draw making his final bow at Melbourne Park at the age of 36, 6-3 6-4 6-2.

Defending champion Djokovic survived a stern test from the 26-year-old Delic, who was only in the draw because of the withdrawal of Nicolas Kiefer through injury.

Delic belied his world ranking of 127, firing down 16 aces and 46 winners in a match that lasted a shade over three hours and was followed by skirmishes between rival Bosnian and Serbian fans outside Rod Laver Arena.

“I didn’t really plan to be that long on the court, of course as you always want to finish the job as soon as possible,” said Djokovic.

“But as I said, the positive thing is that I got more time out there, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming match.”

Roddick took one hour, 39 minutes to see off Santoro, who had been bidding to become the oldest player to reach the fourth round of a grand slam since 39-year-old Jimmy Connors in the 1991 US Open.

Roddick will take on Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the fourth round after the 21st seed easily overcame Yen-Hsun Lu 6-1 6-3 6-2.

Juan Martin Del Potro and Marin Cilic will play each other in the next round after victories against Gilles Muller and David Ferrer respectively.

Croatian Cilic beat the 11th seed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-4, while Del Potro of Argentina came from a set down to defeat Muller 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-3 7-5.

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