Novak Djokovic has extended his remarkable run of success against Italian opposition to a 12th straight year with a straight-sets victory over Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open.
The world No.1 won 6-1 7-5 7-6 (8-6) to move through to a fourth-round encounter against 14th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon, who smashed Argentina’s Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-2 6-1 earlier on Friday.
Djokovic has won 33 successive matches against Italians, with his only Tour-level defeat against a player from Italy coming against Filippo Volandri way back in 2004.