The wolf sharpens its fangs

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Tactical lesson, resilience exercise, and a good dose of intangibles. That's how the triumph of Novak Djokovic against Tomas Machac can be summarized, as the Czech player couldn't find a way to harm the Serbian in this third round of the Australian Open 2025. The final result was 6-1 6-4 6-4 in favor of Djokovic, who is now in the round of 16.

The greater the demand, the better his performance. Novak Djokovic has been applying that logic for a long time and seems to be doing it again in this Australian Open 2025. After two somewhat hesitant matches, when faced with a truly dangerous opponent on the other side of the net, all his automatism kicked in, and the flawless machinery of his tennis was perfectly greased. Tomas Machac was outplayed from start to finish by a player who gained great confidence from this match.

There was a sense of a possible deadly trap for the Balkan player, but he quickly dispelled it in a first set that was a clear display of his competitive intelligence. Djokovic prepared his match against Machac with exceptional care, evident in how he varied heights and speeds, positioned himself at the baseline, and prevented the Czech player from taking the lead. The pace he imposed with the ball was high, hindering Machac from turning the tables and making rational decisions.

- Djokovic tactically executed the match perfectly, preventing Machac from playing his natural game

After several closely contested games went Djokovic's way, there was an expectation of a resurgence from Tomas in the second set, potentially influenced by certain physical problems for the Serbian. It was only a scare, as after conceding an early break, Djokovic quickly reacted with a flawless execution of the game plan. Machac grew frustrated being out of his comfort zone, unable to capitalize on his serve due to Djokovic's excellent returns, and restricted to playing crosscourt due to the difficulty of taking risks from disadvantaged positions.

Nothing seemed to work for the Czech player, who was stripped of his strengths and confidence by the solid performance of his opponent. He attempted to unleash in the third set and play more aggressively, but all efforts were in vain against a predator unwilling to let go of its prey. Novak Djokovic advances to the round of 16 in the Australian Open 2025 and will face Jiri Lehecka, posing a new challenge for the Serbian. If he maintains a performance like today's, he is well positioned to continue his advance.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El lobo afila sus colmillos