Novak Djokovic extended his Grand Slam winning streak against left-handers with a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win over Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the Australian Open.
The win guaranteed that Djokovic would keep his No. 1 ranking after the Australian Open. Rafael Nadal could have taken the top ranking if he won the tournament and Djokovic lost before the fourth round
Djokovic has won 18 consecutive matches against lefties since being beaten by Nadal in the French Open final in 2014. Overall, Djokovic has a 32-11 record against left-handers in majors.
ALEX ZVEREV SETS UP RIONIC CLASH
Alexander Zverev is through to the fourth round at the Australian Open after beating Australian wild-card entry Alex Bolt 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
Bolt upset 29th-seeded Gilles Simon in five sets in the second round.
The fourth-seeded Zverev next plays 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic.
Raonic earlier beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert in straight sets.
RIONIC EASES INTO ROUND 4
Milos Raonic eased to a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (6) win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert to move into the fourth round of the Australian Open for the sixth time.
It came after Raonic had two tough opening matches with Nick Kyrgios and 2014 champion Stan Warwinka.
Raonic swept to 3-0 and 5-1 leads in the tiebreaker but Herbert rallied to level at 5-5. Herbert saved one match point before Raonic clinched the 2-hour, 1-minute match with an ace.
Raonic will play fourth-seeded Zverev next.
NISHIKORI BEATS SOUSA IN STRAIGHT SETS
Kei Nishikori got through the third round in straight sets against Joao Sousa, getting a bit of relief after his first two matches at Melbourne Park went to five sets.
The eighth-seeded Nishikori had a 7-6 (6), 6-1, 6-2 win on Margaret Court Arena right after Naomi Osaka's three-set comeback win over Hsieh Su-wei.
Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open finalist, fended off 59 aces from 39-year-old Ivo Karlovic in the second round before winning the fifth-set tiebreaker 10-7.
Sousa had also advanced through two five-setters and needed a medical time out in the third set.
The last time Nishikori won consecutive matches in five sets at a major was at the U.S. Open in 2014, when he beat Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka in five on the way to his semifinal win over Novak Djokovic.
It was Nishikori's third straight game on Margaret Court Arena, and he said he enjoyed the vibe — particularly after playing after fellow Japanese player Osaka, the U.S. Open champion.
"Forehand has been working very well. Second and third sets I was playing really aggressive, and everything was working well," he said.
He has reached the fourth round in Australia for the seventh time and is on a roll after winning the season-opening tournament in Brisbane.
