Defending Champ Djokovic Earns 23rd Consecutive Aussie Open Win to Advance to Round Three

Novak Djokovic took another step at his Australian Open title defense on Wednesday in Melbourne, a second-round contest against Leonardo Mayer which ended with his 23rd consecutive win Down Under and 26th straight win on the ATP World Tour, 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 in just under two hours. Djokovic will next face Denis Istomin, who advanced with a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over 30th-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov. Istomin is 0-3 lifetime against Djokovic.

"You don't want to spend too much time in the heat," Djokovic said of the Melbourne temps, which have reached near 104 degrees. "You want to try to win as quickly as possible. He [Mayer] started to play better as the match progressed, in the second part, especially in the third set. But I felt like I was serving well and I was in control. When I needed to use my opportunities when they were presented, I did so. It was a better performance than the first round."

David Ferrer needed just over three hours to defeat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-0, 6-3. Ferrer, a two-time Australian Open semifinalist, has reached the quarterfinals or better in the past eight majors. He will meet Jeremy Chardy in round three, who battled past Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 7-6(5). Chardy advanced to his first Grand Slam quarter-final in Melbourne last year.

Stanislas Wawrinka also reached the third round on Wednesday, defeating Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4 in just under three hours. Wawrinka goes on to face Canadian Vasek Pospisil, who advanced to the third round of a major for the first time when he defeated hometown favorite Matthew Ebden 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(9), 6-1.

"I was expecting a tough match," said Wawrinka. "I was focused on myself, trying to be more relaxed, trying to be more positive with myself. At the end the most important thing is to win it. I'm quite happy about that. I'm now looking forward to the next one."

Florian Mayer defeated world number 14 Mikhail Youzhny, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Mayer, who recorded an upset win over Andy Murray in Doha two weeks ago, next meets 20th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz, a 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-3 winner over Spaniard Pablo Andujar.

Also advancing Wednesday was Tomas Berdych a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 winner over France’s Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. Berdych advances to the third round in Melbourne for a fourth consecutive year, and next faces 188th-ranked Damir Dzumhur. The Bosnian was in the middle of a comeback against Ivan Dodig at 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 4-1 when Dodig was forced to retire.

Sam Querrey of the United States advanced to the third round for a fourth time in eight Melbourne appearances with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis.

"It's one of my biggest wins in the past 12 months,” said Querrey. “It was overall a really solid match for me, the best I've felt in a long time. I just feel like I'm playing really well right now. I hope I can keep it up."

France’s Richard Gasquet improved to a 6-2 mark in his FedEx ATP Head2Head against former Nikolay Davydenko, defeating Davydenko 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4. Gasquet had recorded his 350th match win and 200th on hard court with his first-round victory Monday. Gasquet advances to round three where he will face Tommy Robredo, a 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1, 7-6(6) winner over Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

Click here to view the entire 2014 Australian Open Men's Singles draw.