Novak Djokovic comfortably moves past Stan Wawrinka in Rome

| by Balasz Virag

Novak Djokovic defeated Stan Wawrinka in two easy sets, 6-2 6-2, advancing the world number one to the quarterfinals.

Stan Wawrinka played well to get to the third round of the Rome Masters, but when it became clear that he would be facing Novak Djokovic, everyone knew it would be a difficult match. After playing a tough match against Djere in round two and having to play again less than 24 hours later, it was clear that Wawrinka would struggle. Wawrinka, who appeared slow and ancient in comparison to Djokovic, had a tough time.

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Djokovic got out to a faster start in front of a raucous crowd on centre court, swiftly finding his range on return to break early. The Serbian stayed close to the baseline throughout the set, outmanoeuvring Wawrinka with a mix of crisp groundstrokes and drop shots to take the lead after 31 minutes.

In the second set, Djokovic proceeded to torment Wawarinka by demonstrating exceptional feel and power with his foot on the pedal. The 34-year-old fought back aggressively throughout the match, reading Wawrinka's serve effectively and breaking three times in the second set to win. In the quarterfinals, the Serbian will face the eighth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic is still in fight for the first place in the ATP Rankings as he needs to win a couple more matches to stay ahead of Daniil Medvedev.

"The big goal is Paris" says Novak Djokovic about his preparation
"The big goal is Paris" says Novak Djokovic about his preparation

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