The 35-year-old De Minaur, who has not lost at Melbourne Park since the fourth round in 2018, was in no mood to give a chance at Rod Laver Arena as he came off the blocks and unleashed blistering shots on his opponent. on both wings.
Djokovic told fans, “I can’t say I’m sorry you didn’t see the long match.”
“I wanted to win in straight sets. Once you get on the court, you have to deal with a lot of things… The first four, five games were close and after the break I felt looser and more aggressive.
“He was a bit more nervous and that was an opportunity for me to capitalize. Tennis is a fast, dynamic sport, so things change in a matter of moments, but I was able to play my best match of the year.”
Djokovic also said that it was the first time in the tournament that he had a hamstring problem.
He laughed and said, “I am taking a lot of pills to hide the pain, not pills like that.” “Anti-inflammatory … I don’t want to get too deep into it, but today was the best day of the tournament.”