Novak Djokovic battled back from 5-2 down in the first set to beat Quentin Halys 7-6(3), 7-6(5), and move into the Adelaide International quarter finals on Thursday.

Halys, ranked 64th in the world, has never beaten a top10 opponent but gave Djokovic a big scare before the former world No. 1 prevailed in two tie-breakers.

Djokovic, who has now won 31 consecutive singles matches in Australia, is preparing for the January 16-29 Australian Open, where he is seeking a record-extending 10th crown.

“It was a great performance from my opponent today. I want to congratulate him for great quality and a great fight.

“Tough luck but he played like a top 10 player, no doubt,” Djokovic, now ranked fifth in the world, said.

“As far as my game goes, I feel good on the court. I didn’t have such a great start, I lost my serve early. He was serving really well, fast, big serves, hitting his spots in the box very well.

“Just difficult to play in this kind of court that is really fast. It kind of favours the server. If you’re serving well, it’s tough to break the serve of a big server like him, so two tie-breaks were probably the most realistic score.”

The 35-year-old Serbian will next play Denis Shapovalov, who he has beaten in all seven of their meetings.

“Denis is one of the most complete players out there, he’s got a very dynamic style of tennis, a big serve, comes to the net and (he is) comfortable playing from the back of the court,” Djokovic added.

“He’s a very great athlete, moves fantastically. We haven’t played f o r a while so I’m looking forward to that. Every match now gets tougher, I’m going to be ready for that.”

Azarenka prevails

Among women, twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka saw off Zheng Qinwen 6-2, 7-5 to reach the quarter finals alongside unseeded duo Irina-Camelia Begu and Linda Noskova.

China’s Zheng, who was named WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2022, sent down 10 aces and 34 winners but also made 35 unforced errors.

“She’s a great talent,” said Azarenka. “I thought that I stuck to my game plan pretty well today ... I was consistent.”