Serve unreturnable, game Djokovic.
40-30. Seppi stays in game after a Novak mishit.
40-15. Seppi can't dig out first serve.
30-15. Djokovic regains control of the game.
15-15. This time, Djokovic returns the favor by placing his forehand into the net.
15-0. Seppi miscues his forehand again.
Andreas Seppi win game after hitting a fantastic winner; 4-5.
40-30. Djokovic can't take command of game, hitting forehand wide.
30-30. Nice play from Novak to take control of the point off of Seppi's serve.
30-15. Another unforced error from Seppi.
30-0. Djokovic can't dig a shot off the ground, being pushed a little.
15-0. What a wonderful backhand winner up the line from Seppi.
Cross-court winner from Novak levels things at 4.
40-15. But gives away another point, hitting shot into net.
30-15. Seppi fights to stay alive in the game.
30-0. Perfect little drop shot from Novak Djokovic.
15-0. Big serve to start the game, acing Seppi.
Huge ace from Seppi wins him the game, Novak challenges but to no avail.
40-0. Another shot from Novak goes long.
30-0. First good rally from the two in this set, but Djokovic hits shot up the line wide.
15-0. Second serve from Seppi wins him the point, hitting it with pace.
Djokovic gets the service game after Seppi hits return poorly.
40-15. Fantastic smashing shot from Novak.
30-15. Seppi with a good cross-court passing shot.
30-0. Takes a quick two point lead.
15-0. Good serve to start the game.
Seppi holds onto his serve after Novak misses an easy shot.
40-30. What a passing shot by Djokovic.
40-15. One point away to win the game.
30-15. Great first serve sets up rest of the point.
15-15. Djokovic forces Seppi to hit a shot far.
15-0. Wonderful tennis from Seppi to start the service game.
Game Djokovic after Seppi hit return into net.
Adv.-40. Fantastic ace.
Deuce. Seppi dictates rally, but gives it away after mishitting a shot; 2-2.
30-40. First break point saved.
15-40. This is strange. A third error in a row on the same shot.
15-30. Another backhand is forced into an error.
15-15. Backhand hit to far.
15-0. Unreturnable serve.
Nice and easy service game despite dropping opening point.
40-15. Perfect serve from Seppi.
30-15. Good court coverage by Seppi.
15-15. Great return by Novak forces an unforced error.
0-15. Djokovic's return lands long.
Two aces in the game brings the set level at 1.
40-15. Forehand gets hit into the net by Seppi.
30-15. Beautiful ace.
15-15. Seppi returns the favor.
0-15. Novak flubs his passing shot, hits it too long.
Opening service game is saved by Seppi, Djokovic drops racket again after forehand lets him down.
40-30. Seppi serve couldn't be returned.
30-30. Djokovic fights back in the opening game.
Andrea Seppi hits another shot into the net, but this time, it gives Novak a two-set lead.
Adv.-40. Nice ace, biggest serve.
Deuce. Double by Novak.
40-30. Holy ace by Djokovic.
30-30. Perfect passing shot by Seppi.
30-15. Despite good tennis from Seppi, stretching the court, his final shot let him down landing wide.
15-15. Seppi nearly gets a winner up the line, but goes just wide.
0-15. First point from Djokovic slams into the net.
There it is!!! Absolutely fantastic 32 shot rally with some nice cross-court shots, but Djokovic gets the break with the chance to serve for the set.
30-40. Djokovic played well in the rally to get a break point.
30-30. Good controlled shot from the Italian.
15-30. That forehand again is causing Seppi trouble.
15-15. Seppi gets first point of game.
0-15. Could Djokovic get a break here?
Poor shot from Seppi levels everything at 5.
40-30. Djokovic smashes an effort straight into the net.
40-15. Body serve from Novak forces Seppi to return it awkwardly.
30-15. Comes back with a great serve up the middle.
15-15. Wow. Double fault from Djokovic.
15-0. Seppi hits another unforced error on his forehand.
Steady as you go. Has won his first five service games.
40-0. Where was this man in the first set? Drops a shot over the top of the net.
30-0. Seppi hits a blistering winner, playing more consistent.
15-0. Djokovic looses the challenge.
Djokovic has better service game, ties things up at 4.
40-30. Smashes winner past Seppi.
30-30. Novak being forced to work really hard in this set, much harder than what he would've wanted to.
30-15. Djokovic hits shot into the net.
30-0. Seppi couldn't get time to place passing shot, hits it well wide.
15-0. Good start to service game, moving Seppi around.
Novak unhappy with himself in that game as he drops his racket walking back to his seat; 3-4.
40-30. Novak smashes a winner up the line.
40-15. Djokovic couldn't return serve.
30-15. Good volley from Seppi to regain the lead.
15-15. Big ace.
0-15. Poor start by the Italian.
Novak Djokovic is forced to work, but holds his serve; 3-3.
Adv.-40. Another forehand lets Seppi down.
Deuce. Second serve from Novak brings game to deuce.
30-40. Can Seppi break Djokovic?
30-30. Lucky break for Novak as his shot hits the net and falls onto Seppi's side of the court.
15-30. Great court coverage from Seppi to athleticly win a point.
15-15. Wonderful backhand shot from Djokovic.
0-15. Good return from Seppi.
Djokovic stretches too far and can't control a shot that goes long; 2-3.
40-15. Djokovic hits another shot into the net, game point to Seppi.
30-15. Beautiful play from Seppi this set. Where was this in the first?
15-15. Quick return from Novak.
15-0. Good serve from Seppi.
Set is tied at two!
Adv.-40. Superb rally between the two ends in a shot from Seppi going very wide.
Deuce. Seppi lands a backhand winner perfectly.
40-30. Misses a big smash millimeters wide. Unbelievable.
40-15. Lovely forehand winner.
30-15. Forehand shot from Seppi lets him down.
15-15. Novak misses a shot and puts it into the net.
15-0. Djokovic smashes another overhead shot to open up the game.
Much better! Seppi his second service games, goes up 2-1.
40-30. Seppi can't dig out a low shot.
40-15. This time Djokovic hits a shot into the net.
30-15. Takes the lead back!
15-15. But makes up for it by firing a nice winner up the line.
0-15. Seems to be a common theme with Seppi as he hit another shot into the net.
Both men hold their serves.
40-15. Big smash by Novak gives him game point.
30-15. Body serve from Djokovic.
15-15. Seppi knows he blew a chance to take a big lead in the game by hitting a shot long.
0-15. Seppi gaining confidence as he hits a high arching shot up the line.
Better start! Seppi wins his opening service game to start the second set!
Adv.-40. Ace from Seppi!!
40-40. Seppi pulls back level.
30-40. Novak Djokovic nearly hits a ball kid but checks to make sure he ways okay!
15-40. Djokovic is just too much for the Italian at the moment.
15-30. Seppi giving away too many points, hits another shot into the net.
15-15. Novak hits his return long.
0-15. Nice combination rally ends with a Djokovic winner up the line; good tennis from Seppi though. Is there anything he can do?
An easy opening set for the world's number one.
40-0. Again, Djokovic's serve is too strong.
30-0. Return from Seppi is not good enough.
15-0. Novak is three points away from the first set win.
Finally! Seppi wins a service game and it's now 5-1 in the opening set.
Adv.-40. A return from Djokovic hits the net.
Deuce. Good closing speed from Seppi, but couldn't put the right weight on his dink.
Adv.-40. Djokovic gets an unforced error.
Deuce. A Seppi shot goes long.
40-30. Lovely net play from both before Seppi hit a backhand straight at the net.
40-15. Seppi is hitting better serves this game.
30-15. Djokovic hits a shot into the net.
15-15. But quickly levels the game.
15-0. A rare site: Djokovic hit a shot wide.
There it is. Novak Djokovic is already up 5-0, in what seems like only a matter of minutes.
40-0. Seppi was leaning one way but Djokovic hits his winner to the other side of the court.
30-0. There's another unforced error from Seppi, set quickly getting out of hand.
15-0. Djokovic hits a shot up the line that Seppi returned into the net.
He does after he smashes an overhead shot that Seppi couldn't handle; double break in the first set.
30-40. Novak can't get the first break point. Can he get the second one?
15-40. Second long rally of the game ends with a Seppi unforced error, this time hitting his shot wide.
15-30. Great cross-court winner there.
0-30. Long rally ends in a shot from Seppi hitting the net.
0-15. Novak gets the first advantage of the fourth game.
Game to Novak after Seppi's return hit the net to consolidate the break.
40-30. Seppi couldn't return the fast serve from Novak.
30-30. A second unforced error in a row draws the game level.
30-15. Djokovic uses great technique at the net again until his final shot goes wide.
30-0. Novak comes to the net for the fist time and bounces a shot softly into the other side of the court.
15-0. Ace to start his service game.
And just like that, there goes the break after hitting a cross-court winner to take the second game.
15-40. Djokovic gets two break chances after hitting a great shot up the line.
15-30. This time, the return from Novak is hit hard but goes too far.
0-30. Novak's big return is too much.
0-15. Seppi couldn't control his shot as it goes long.
Novak takes the first game.
Deuce. But Seppi looks to have clawed his way back, but it lands wide.
Adv.-40. Djokovic takes the advantage.
Deuce. Seppi fights back to deuce.
40-30. Wonderful return of serve there.
40-15. Seppi smashes his shot into the net.
30-15. First ace from Novak!
15-15. The Italian is able to level the opening game though.
15-0. Seppi hits a shot long to start.
Here we go!
We are just about 30 minutes away from the start of this 3rd round match! Hope everying is getting ready!
Here is what the world’s number one to say about his third round opponent: “I think he deserves a lot of respect for, you know, the amounts of years that he spent in top 30. Very solid. He likes playing here. He's not really overwhelmed by a big occasion. Played many, many, many times on big stadiums against top players.”
Seppi, for as long as he has been around, has never won a Grand Slam title. As a matter of fact, he has not even gotten close as he never made it to a semifinal and has only won three titles throughout the entirety of his career and has a rather poor overall record which stands at 287-308.
A win for Novak Djokovic would see him face off against Kei Nishikori. Nishikori was really thrusted into the limelight after a stunning quarter-final victory of the potential opposition the 2014 US Open. The Japanese dominated that match, winning it in four sets, losing the second one 1-6. This could be an interesting matchup because the two play very similar styles. However, since that loss, the two have faced each other four times and Novak has dropped only two sets out of ten.
Looking at the stats from the two matches, Djokovic is coming to the net a lot more and winning those points as well; 15/17. This means that Seppi will need to hit good passing shots in order to get the ball behind the long length and mobility of the Serbian.
In Djokovic’s previous match with Halys, he won exactly 100 points with 42 of them coming off of winners. This will show that Seppi better be ready to defend all match in order to say in it because he will be pushed further and further behind the baseline. Andrea Seppi was good in his second round match with the rising American and the stats back that up. There were not too many opportunities to break Denis Kudla, but he was successful 75% of those times, which proved to be the difference in each set.
These two men have faced each other 10 other times dating back to Rotterdam in 2006 when the Serbian ousted Seppi in three sets. Since then, however, Novak has been essentially untouchable when the two go head-to-head and has only lost three sets (including the first two in the Round of 16 at the French Open in 2012). This is quite a remarkable statistic considering the amount of times these two have faced each other. This has to mean that the Seppi doesn’t stand a chance against his opposition does it? Not necessarily.
To start the season, Novak Djokovic took on the field in the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open and destroyed the field which included a demolishing of Rafael Nadal in the finals. Along with these first two wins at the Australian Open, Novak has won his previous nine matches. His last loss came against Roger Federer in the ATP World Tour Finals but beat him in the final game of that tournament in straight sets.
Meanwhile, Seppi hasn’t fared too well in recent times and is definitely showing his age. Going back to the Paris Masters, there has been more defeats than wins and that could indicate a downward trend in his game. In his last eight matches outside of this Australian Open, he has only won one match and that came in the Apia International Sydney. There, he made it to the Round of 32 as he defeated Denis Istomin in three sets.
Novak Djokovic is again dominating the field. Not just in this tournament, but to start the season. He has yet to drop a set and somehow looks even better than he did last year. In the opening two rounds, Djokovic has faced two up-and-coming tennis sensations in Hyeon Chung and Quentin Halys; both of are only 19. Halys, native of Bondy, France, pushed the world’s number one the hardest as he forced him into a third set tiebreaker. However, Djokovic’s power was just too much and won that tiebreak 7-3.
The 28th ranked Seppi has had to work a little bit to get into this round as he was pushed to four sets in his opening match against Teymuraz Gabashvili. He eventually won it in the fourth set as he won the tiebreak after an intense battle that lasted 22 points. In the second round, the Italian found his game a little easier and won in straight sets 7-5 6-4 6-4, defeating 23-year-old American Denis Kudla.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA’s LIVE coverage of the 2016 Australian Open 3rd round as Novak Djokovic will do battle with Andrea Seppi. This game will start at 3:00 AM EST. My name is Kyle Sennikoff and I hope you will enjoy the coverage!