Djokovic eases past Carreno Busta and into Cincinnati quarter-finals

Novak Djokovic continued his winning run at the Western & Southern Open, cruising past Pablo Carreno Busta in the last 16 on Thursday.

The world number one made it eight straight wins in Cincinnati by easing past Carreno Busta 6-3 6-4 at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Djokovic was in control throughout against the Spaniard, maintaining his perfect record against Carreno Busta with a third win.

The defending champion and 16-time grand slam winner will face Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic won 12 straight points during the opening set, including breaking serve in the sixth game with a forehand pass at the net.

It was a clean first set from the Serbian star as he combined 13 winners with just five unforced errors.

First set to @DjokerNole The defending champ leads Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 on Center Court. #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/SEk9jIkgzH

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) August 15, 2019

Carreno Busta squandered opportunities early in the second set and he pulled a cross-court forehand wide to be broken in the third game.

Despite a much tighter set, that break was all Djokovic needed as he moved into the last eight.