Djokovic crushes Australian dreams to reach quarters

Novak Djokovic weathered a gallant challenge from a tenacious Lleyton Hewitt to send the last Australian in the draw packing and make the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Monday.

Novak Djokovic weathered a gallant challenge from a tenacious Lleyton Hewitt to send the last Australian in the draw packing and make the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Monday.

Novak-Djokovic-R-of-Serbia-embraces-Lleyton-Hewitt-of-Australia-after-their-men-s-singles-match-at-the-Australian-Open-tennis-tournament-in-Melbourne-Reuters-Daniel-Munoz

While most at the packed Rod Laver Arena hoped for a boilover, few expected it to materialise but 30-year-old Hewitt rode the crowd's emotion to poach a set off the world number one before going down fighting 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-3.

Dressed in black and prowling panther-like across the baseline, Djokovic was in no mood for sentiment as he motored through the first two sets.

Coasting at 3-0 up in the third set, Djokovic stumbled on serve to allow the gritty Australian to fight back then take the match to a fourth after the Serb netted on set point.

Djokovic captured the decisive break at 3-2 in the fourth and sealed the match with a booming backhand down the line. The top seed will play David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.