Djokovic serves up an exhibition, thrashes Fognini

Second seed Novak Djokovic enjoyed a rudimentary victory to progress into the Australian Open quarter-finals. Djokovic booked his quarter-finals place with a regulation 6-3 6-0 6-2 win over 15th seeded Italian Fabio Fognini in just over an hour and a half. The world number two got off to a flying start, holding to love in his first three service games as a statement of intent to his good friend Fognini. The Serb finished the match with an impressive 72 per cent of first serves landed, of which he won 38 of 43 points behind. And to cap off an easy afternoon in the sun at Melbourne Park, Djokovic - in his post-match interview with Jim Courier, imitated his new coach Boris Becker much to the delight of the on-looking fans. Djokovic was wary of the threat posed by Fognini and knew he could not take the world number 16 lightly. "Before the match I knew that he's a flashy kind of player that, you know, if he feels good, if he's focused enough, I would say he can be very dangerous opponent on any surface. "He won against (Sam) Querrey the round before. He's top 15 in the world. He's playing the best tennis of his life in last year and a half. "All the facts are saying enough about his qualities that he can challenge anybody really. So I did not take anything really for granted. "I went out there preparing for this match as well as I do for any. When he had his moments during the match, I know him for long time so for me it's funny, but I did not try to laugh too much about it. "I tried to direct my focus on my side of the court, what I need to do, not pay attention on him, even though he was funny at times, I have to say." The 26-year-old is favourite to win the first Grand Slam of the year for a fourth consecutive time and does not see the expectations placed upon him as a burden. "Pressure is always there as a top player, especially here defending my title for couple years in a row. I do feel there's always high expectations." Djokovic added. "But it's all part of our sport. It's what we need to deal with. It's what we need to accept and try to use it in a positive way. "By saying that, I mean that pressure is a privilege in a way, because it means you're doing something that is very valuable, that is, of course, very important. "In my life I've always dreamed of being on this stage, competing at the highest level. So I try to look at the pressure on the brighter side, right? "I really enjoy every moment spent on the court. For me it matters the most."