Novak Djokovic survives 5-setter vs. Gilles Simon to reach quarters

It was a chastened Djokovic who ruefully admitted that 100 unforced errors was not a record he planned on breaking again any time soon.

“That will be a good match, I have nothing to lose”, William said ahead of their rematch.

“It gives me great joy to know that I can’t get worse than that, than what I played today”, Djokovic said with a smile after scraping past Simon.

Not many had given the the 14th seeded Simon much of a chance and when Djokovic sped to a 6-3 lead in the first set, business seemed to be proceeding as usual. He is one of the best counter-punchers and has beaten big players on the big stage.

Back Simon came again, however, and as Djokovic served to stay in the fourth set at 5-4, the top seed wavered, dabbing two limp drop-shots into the net and then missing a backhand to send the contest to a decider. “What did you say?”, Djokovic said.

“I look forward to playing the best in the world, and that’s what she’s proven in the last year – the last many years”, Sharapova said about Williams after beating Belinda Bencic 7-5, 7-5 in the fourth-round Sunday. “Sometimes you have a brain freeze, if I can call it that way”. Djokovic took his career to its present lofty level a couple years ago when he switched to a gluten-free diet, which he writes about in his memoir/diet book, “Serve to Win”.

Fatigue and pressure looked to get to Simon by the time Djokovic took a 3-1 lead. He drew a lot of people to watch tennis, bringing a lot of energy on the court, a lot of charisma, just a lot of quality overall. He likes to play long matches.

Simon rallied with a final flourish, regaining a service break and saved two match points before holding to raise thunderous cheers from a raucous crowd firmly in his corner.

Djokovic tightened up in the third as he reduced his error count by inviting Simon to attack and the tactic worked as he broke twice to restore his advantage. “From that moment he only hit good shots all the way until he was leading 5-1”. Nishikori took an injury timeout for a wrist issue against the Spaniard, but he put any fears to rest by clobbering Tsonga 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth round.

“Playing someone like Gilles, you face a lot of balls coming back. He definitely played better in the end”. This will be the seventh time Nishikori and Djokovic meet on hard court, the surface both of Kei’s victories have come on.

“I just feel like I’m really confident in my game right now, not against her or against any other opponent”, in particular, Williams said.

In reaching his 27th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final Djokovic matched the record of Jimmy Connors.

Indian tennis veterans Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna won their respective mixed doubles openers to advance to the second round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

Williams won 26 matches in a row at the majors last season, capturing the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles and reaching the semifinals at the U.S. Open before a stunning loss to Roberta Vinci ended her run for the season slam. The Swiss now faces Tomas Berdych.

Second set was one-sided affair, as Kei dominated the game completely.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic survived a nail-biting encounter on Sunday to keep alive his quest for a sixth title at the Australian Open. Williams, who advanced in 55 minutes, said she did not know she was facing Sharapova, who has not defeated her in more than a decade. Simon tenaciously avoided shorter rallies, and he won more points in longest rallies of 9 shots and more.