Novak Djokovic Beat Quentin Halys To Reach Adelaide International Quarter-Finals

Novak Djokovic beat Frenchman Quentin Halys on Thursday to reach the Adelaide International quarter-finals, stepping up his preparations for the Australian Open.

The top seed from Serbia won 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5) and will face Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the last eight.

Djokovic returned to the scene of his 2007 title run on Tuesday with a comfortable straight-sets win over France’s Constant Lestienne.

He backed that up against Lestienne’s doubles partner Halys but was slow to get going, slumping 2-5 in the first set before clinching victory.

“It was a great performance from my opponent today,” said the 35-year-old Djokovic, who is warming up for a tilt at a 10th Australian Open title after missing last year’s Grand Slam when he was deported over his vaccination status.

“He played like a top-10 player today.

“It was difficult to break his serve because he was hitting his spots and he was being very precise, and big serves, as well,” he added.