Novak Djokovic breezed past Gael Monfils in straight sets and into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Thursday.
The 37-year-old won 6-3 6-3 to set up a last-eight tie against American Reilly Opelka, who he will face for the first time in his career after coming through two tie-breaks against Italian Matteo Arnaldi.
Djokovic worked efficiently and was rarely troubled against Monfils, taking his only break opportunity in the first set to go 4-1 up inside 36 minutes.
Monfils then missed a straightforward forehand while on serve at 1-1 in the second set and failed to take a point for the remainder of the game.
Having allowed Djokovic to break early in the second, the Serbian then held service in three straight games before breaking Monfils again at 6-3 to wrap up a simple victory.
20 - Novak Djokovic has now registered his 20th win against Gael Monfils, making the Frenchman the sixth player against whom he has managed 20+ wins in his career in ATP events and the only player against whom he has 20 wins without a loss. Dominate. @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/gPXqEHZe1R
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 2, 2025
Data debrief: Dominant Djokovic on course for history
Djokovic secured his victory in Brisbane in just one hour and 12 minutes as he bids to become just the third man, alongside Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103), to win 100 tour-level titles.
This meeting with Monfils was the 20th of his professional career and he maintained his 100% record against the 38-year-old.
