Novak Djokovic might be in ridiculous form at the moment, but the world number one is expecting a difficult match against Andreas Seppi when the two players meet in the third round of the 2016 Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
Djokovic has been in top form, yet again, in 2016, with the Serbian carrying on from his Qatar Open title win with a couple of easy victories in the first two rounds of the Australian Open.
No player seems to possess the power to conjure up a victory over Djokovic at the moment, and the Serbian is clearly in a good mood, in terms of his on-court tennis. It will be up to Seppi to disrupt that Djokovic rhythm come Friday at the Margaret Court Arena, much like he did in the same round, in the same tournament, last year against Roger Federer.
"He won against Federer last year in third round. I think he deserves a lot of respect for the amount of years that he spent in top 30," Djokovic told reporters after his second round victory. "Very solid. He likes playing here. He's not really overwhelmed by a big occasion.
"Played many, many, many times on big stadiums against top players. So I expect him to try his best to win. It's going to be a tough one. I need to earn my points. I need to be ready for rallies. It's going to be physical match. But the way I've been playing, I have a lot of faith and confidence in my game."
No wonder, considering Djokovic is on another winning run to open up the New Year. Seppi, though, has given Djokovic a few tough matches in the past, none more so than in the fourth round of the 2012 French Open, when the Serbian was forced to fight back from two sets down.
"I was very close to losing that match," Djokovic said, recalling the fourth round clash, which he eventually won 4-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-5, 6-3. "Yeah, he was two sets up. Managed to turn that around. As I said, he's a kind of a player with experience, really solid baseline game and on a good day can really challenge any top player.
"He's always going to play flat and solid, always making you play an extra shot. He plays very fast, very quick. Here, the courts are played quicker than maybe some other hard court events. I think he likes that. He likes a good rhythm. I'm going to try not to give him that. I'm going to try to mix up the pace."
Where to Watch Live
The Australian Open third round match -- Novak Djokovic vs Andreas Seppi -- is scheduled for a 7 pm local time (1.30 pm IST, 8 am GMT, 3 am ET) start. Live coverage of the match in India will be on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD.
The online live streaming option is on Sonyliv. Australia viewers can watch the Australian Open live on Channel 7 will broadcast the Australian Open live in Australia, with the live stream option on 7Sport online.
ESPN and Watch ESPN will broadcast the tennis match live in the USA and Canada.
BBC will broadcast Djokovic vs Seppi live in the UK, while all the action can also be live streamed on BBCiPlayer. Eurosport and Eurosport Player are the places to be to watch the first Grand Slam of the year live in the rest of Europe.
Fox Sports will show the second round matches live in South East Asia and South Korea. The Australian Open third round can be watched live in the Middle East and North Africa on Bein Sports and Bein Sports Connect.
