Djokovic crushes De Minaur to fire warning at Australian Open

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic greets Australia’s Alex De Minaur after winning their men’s singles match on day eight of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23

MELBOURNE, AFP: Novak Djokovic demolished Alex de Minaur for the loss of just five games to sweep into a 13th Australian Open quarter-final and send an ominous warning Monday, showing few signs of his troublesome hamstring.

The Serbian brushed past the Australian 22nd seed 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena to move a step closer to a 10th title at Melbourne Park, and 22 major crown. With his left thigh again heavily strapped, the 35-year-old was a man on a mission, expending as little energy as possible in a 2hrs 6mins romp to inch within sight of Rafael Nadal's slam record.

He will meet fifth seed Andrey Rublev for a semi-final berth after the Russian toppled Danish teen Holger Rune in a tense five-set clash on the same court.