Melbourne: World number one Novak Djokovic stormed into the final round of the Australian Open after registering a straight-set victory over Lucas Pouille of France in the semi-final clash of the men’s singles event here on Friday.
The 31-year-old handed over a 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 defeat to his French opponent in just 83 minutes to confirm a summit showdown against world number two Rafael Nadal.
Pouille gave away his chances quite easily and committed some forgettable errors which helped Djokovic take an early lead. The Fenchman came under the pressure immediately after double-faulting to give the Serbian player his opening service game. Djokovic hit 11 winners and lost just three first service points to clinch the opening set 6-0.
The second set was no different from the first one as Djokovic kept Pouille on the edge. In an attempt to narrow the point gap, number 28 seed double-faulted one more time in the fourth to let the momentum slip away from his hands. Relentless Djokovic broke for the fifth time to win the set which lasted 57 minutes.
The clash was pretty much one-sided in the third set as well. The Serbian broke in the fourth game and was ruthless in his shots. Without breaking much sweat, Djokovic thrashed Pouille 6-2 to in the third set clear his way to the finals.
Overall, Djokovic, who will be eyeing his seventh trophy in the Melbourne Park, smashed six aces and 45 service points to register a dominating victory in the semi-final match.
Nadal and Djokovic will be crossing sword for the Australian Open title on January 27.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]