24th January, 2016
Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a scare against Gilles Simon to reach the last eight of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Five-time champion Djokovic made 100 unforced errors but finally prevailed 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-3 after four hours and 32 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic, 28, is through to his 27th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final.
The Serb plays Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the last eight after the seventh seed beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 6-2 6-4.
Nishikori broke Tsonga’s serve five times while the Frenchman hit eight double-faults in a flat display.
“Today was one of the best matches I’ve had this week,” said 28-year-old Nishikori, a US Open finalist in 2014.
“I’m surprised that I broke him early every set. I was returning well, so that made it tough for him to have a good serve all the time.”