Djokovic overcomes tricky Seppi to make fourth round

Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are back on court Friday for their third-round matches at the Australian Open.

The 28-year-old world number one, who easily beat French teenager Quentin Halys on Wednesday to advance to the Australian Open third round, was asked about a report in Italian newspaper Tuttosport that he had deliberately lost to now-retired French player Fabrice Santoro at the Paris Masters.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic hits a shot during his third round match against Italy’s Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 22, 2016. The Swiss maestro, who turned 34 last August, is still playing his most aggressive tennis to date and left very little to his opponents during the first three matches – including the talented Dolgopolov and Dimitrov. That’s my point. There hasn’t been too many matches where top players lost in last decade or so in early rounds.

On Tuesday, an unidentified former South American tennis player said on the BBC’s World Have Your Say programme that fixing issues were “like a secret on the tour that everybody knows, but we don’t talk about it”. Djokovic has never lost in 11 career meetings with the Italian player, including a straight-set victory in the third round of the U.S. Open past year, but he’s not taking anything for granted. “I started very well”, was his verdict, before saying “I backed up half a step” in the second.

As Roger Federer reached a landmark 300th Grand Slam win, Djokovic still looked like the man to beat as he weathered a strong challenge from Andreas Seppi to reach the first weekend without dropping a set. “I ain’t stopping… if I’m winning, I’m doing it”, said the two-time champion, who has been barely troubled heading into the fourth round. “You know, until somebody comes out with the real proof and evidence, it’s only a speculation for me”.

The world number one wasn’t dwelling on it though, saying of his straight-sets win “certainly I must be pleased”.

Djokovic described the allegations as “not true” and “absurd”. But I played a quality player who took out Federer a year ago.

“I’m just glad that I still didn’t get any this press conference because I have nothing more to say there”.

It’s Djokovic’s favourite – but there are plenty of rivals for the Serb.

“I was approached through people that were working with me at that time, that were with my team”, he said.