Day Three: A straight sets win for Djokovic

Novak Djokovic made a commanding win in his second round match at the Australian Open with victory over Ryan Harrison in straight sets.

Djokovic swept to victory in 91 minutes with a 6-1 6-2 6-3 win over 20-year-old Harrison.

"I went with that kind of (focused) mindset on the court, just trying to play as sharp as possible from the start,” Djokovic said after the match.

“You're trying to perform your best in every match that you play on. This was definitely a better performance than the first round. I managed to play in a very high level already in the second round of a Grand Slam, which is very encouraging for (the) next challenge.”

The Serb applied maximum pressure from the very first ball, and Harrison simply couldn’t go with him. The shell-shocked 20-year-old found himself a set down in just 20 minutes, having won nine points to Djokovic’s 26.

The top seed has rarely looked better and continued his assault, his forehand – which produced 14 cold winners throughout the match – particularly devastating. Harrison finally got the better of Djokovic during the third game, coming out on top of a 17-stroke rally at deuce after the Serb erred wildly, eventually holding for 1-2.

But it was a mere aberration. Djokovic’s sunniness, exhibitionism and character masks the intense competitor within, killer instinct running like iced water through his veins. He showed no remorse for or mercy on his overwhelmed opponent despite the one-sided scoreline, and made it even more so when he held to love to take second set, helped on set point by a fabulous running forehand angled sharply cross court that drew an error.

Harrison showed evidence of his highly-regarded talent with some electrifying passing shot winners, his clenched fists showing the supportive Rod Laver Arena crowd that the endeavour, at least, was there. They cheered him on, willing the match to go just a little longer.

They got their wish. A battle ensued in the seventh game, with several deuces. As Djokovic relentlessly pounded his forehand from corner to corner, Harrison defended valiantly and was able to extract some uncharacteristic errors. Holding for 3-4, he injected a little tension into the match.

Djokovic answered the challenge authoritatively, clobbering several winners to hold for love, and then clocking consecutive forehand winners in the next game to end the match.