Righto, that’s us done for today.Thanks all for your company, and we’ll be back tomorrow for more love and joy – join Katy Murrells for a bit of Sinner v Gaston, Osaka v Ruzic, Boulter v Bencic and Mochizuki v Tstisipas, with hopefully some Dimitrov v Machac thrown in.Peace.Muller, who turned around a fifth-set break, says it was easy as Popyrin served really well.He tried to concentrate and play his own game but the crowd were against him so it wasn’t easy.

on the other hand, he enjoys it as in France, the crowd being for you can bring more pressure,He had some cramps that gave him grief during the last hour, so will have to try and recover, but he’ll come to the next match with a plan and see how it goes,A mighty effort from Muller who wins the first five-setter of his career, earning a second-round match with Alexander Zverev,That was some seriously intense behaviour, handling the crowd to play some of the best stuff of his career,Muller nets a return; five match points remain, but he is now serving.

Popyrin rams an ace down the T; six match points remain,Yup, Popyrin has gone,Muller floats a return back into the corner, sticks in the rally, and again, the Aussie botches a forehand; 7-2,There must now be a collapse for him to win, but another error means 8-2, then a long return 9-2,Seven [7] richly deserved match points…Better from Muller, a huge serve and a swing-volley putaway for 5-2, then a long backhand from Popyrin and he leads 6-2.

He’s kept his composure superbly so far, and he’s now four points away.Now then.Another forehand error, this time long, and Muller has the mini-break, the crowd cheering when he dumps a first serve.But, though he doesn’t put away a swing-volley, playing it far too safe, Popyrin again nets a forehand, a big weapon forsaking him at the crucial moment, to trail 2-4.At 1-1, Popyrin works the rally well, opening the angle for a big forehand, but then he closes shoulders and clouts it into the net; 2-1 Muller.

Popyrin opens with an ace, the atmosphere in the crowd more football than tennis – or, probably more accurately, more AO than Wimbledon, which makes sense, all things considered.Thanks Luke and hi again.We’ve only one match left today and that’s deep into a fifth set, Muller with 40-0 against Popyrin, serving for a match tiebreak.The crowd are as into it as you’d expect, and the players are on the manic side of agitated; this is what it’s all about, and Muller holds to 15 for that decisive breaker.That’s the lot from me, Daniel’s back from break.

“Great to be back,” says Djokovic.“My favourite court, that has given me so much.I tried to give it back in the last 20-plus years.Hopefully you guys enjoyed the tennis tonight.”On his 100th win in Melbourne:“To be a centurion is pretty nice.

I always give my best … history-making is a great motivation part in the last five, 10 years … once I got myself in the position to make history, I was even more inspired to play my best tennis … that’s what I’ve done,“I was fortunate to encounter some people early in my career who taught me to play the long shot, to not burn out too quickly, to take care of my body and my mind and try to have as long a career as possible,“I am blessed to still be playing and to adding another win is a dream come true,Thank you all for witnessing it,”Seeing some footage of his shirtless body from much earlier in his career, he adds:“I wish I could bring back that body … not for the beach, not for the looks, but for the functionality on the court.

I think it served me well.”“A clinical performance … all aspects of his game firing on all cylinders,” says Henman on commentary for Discovery +.“He was aggressive, he was controlled, and after two hours, he’ll be delighted with a straight-sets victory.”And that’s 100 victories at this tournament for Djokovic.He now has a century of wins at three of the four grand slams.

Martínez 3-6, 2-6, 2-5 *Djokovic (*denotes next server)And like that … he’s gone.Well not quite.But Djokovic breaks again – and this is nearly over.*Martínez 3-6, 2-6, 2-4 Djokovic (*denotes next server)Djokovic does some more elite tennis-ing and eases into a 4-2 lead.“I’ve been very impressed,” Henman says on commentary of the Serbian’s display.

“He’s been pretty much faultless.Hasn’t expended too much energy, used all the shots.”You do have the option of emailing me to point out my errors send me your thoughts on the action.Martínez 3-6, 2-6, 2-3 *Djokovic (*denotes next server)Well would you look at that.The irrepressible Serbian breaks his Spanish opponent and that should be curtains, Goodnight Vienna, all over bar the shouting, or something like that.

Djokovic can serve for a 4-2 lead,Martínez 3-6, 2-6, 2-2 DjokovicThe Spaniard is serving and we’re all square in the third,The umpire tells off someone naughty in the crowd who shouted during the point,Right, what’s occurring on Rod Laver Arena?Ruud speaks: “It was a great, kind of perfect start,This is one of my favourite courts in the world, the crowd is always amazing.

Thanks for staying I know it’s late [the crowd cheers, on cue] … I’m excited, looking forward to being back in a few days.”Ruud and his wife Maria are expecting a baby daughter imminently, and the next question is about that.“I have to thank Maria for letting me go in the first place,” Ruud says of his journey to Australia.“Unless I’m playing a match, the ‘ringer’ is always on … there is more to life than tennis.I’ll be here as long as I can, and for as long as Maria lets me.

“Hopefully I can get to finish here, with everything going well at home,Hopefully next year I’ll be back and I’ll be a father,”C’est comme ça,Ruud seals the game and the match,The two players greet each other warmly at the net, Ruud apparently impressed with the fight the 24-year-old Bellucci showed, the Italian smiling and wishing his conqueror the best.

Nothing wrong with that,Bellucci 1-6, 2-6, 4-5 RuudThe Italian has now saved three match points, the latest of them with an ace,At deuce Ruud looks to go down the line but it’s a naff effort that spanners off his racket,Bellucci, whose celebration of the third saved match point showed he regards this as very much game on, finally seals his hold of serve,He’s forced his opponent to serve it out – and that’s the name of the game.

Bellucci 1-6, 2-6, 3-5 RuudA Ruud awakening for Bellucci? I couldn’t possibly comment.The Norwegian is now a game away from his own celebratory drink of choice.Martínez 3-6, 2-6 DjokovicThe tennis machine that is Novak Djokovic eases into a two-set lead, and he can almost taste that ice-cold pint of Castlemaine XXXX he’s going to sink after he wins.Bellucci 1-6, 2-6, 3-4 RuudOver on Margaret Court Arena Caspar Ruud, the No 12 seed, remains on top of Mattia Bellucci.The world No 76 is being worked around the court by the Norwegian’s shot-mmaking, the latest a handsome forehand winner to the corner.

Martínez 3-6, 2-5 *Djokovic (*denotes next server)This is all moving pretty quickly.Djokovic digs out a ludicrous down-the-line winner, sliding to his left, and quickly seals a double break.He will serve for the second set.Thanks Daniel and hi everyone.Tennis, is it? OK.

Djokovic now leads 3-2 in the second set, Martínez having held his serve.Righto, I’m off for a break.Here’s Luke McLaughlin to chill with you in the meantime.Ach, and Djokovic has just broken Martínez, even redder in the face than the photo suggests, to lead 6-2 3-1; neither of our show-court matches looks likely to be even remotely close.A vicious backhand and Muller breaks Popyrin back for 4-4 in set four – Popyrin leads 2-1 – then Bellucci, just broken for a second time in the second set, forces break point as Ruud serves for it at 6-1 5-2.

for all the good it does him: the no 12 seed saves it, serves out, and he leads 6-1 6-2,Bellucci just can’t get anything going, now down 1-6 2-4 as Ruud has his way with him,He just can’t play well enough for long enough to do any damage, though it’s also fair to note that the Norwegian is hitting it nicely,And he does, a 6-3 first set settled – served the Serbian,Popyrin has broken Muller and leads 2-1 3-2, the crowd as into the match as he is.

Meantime, Djokovic is working hard to break Martinez, amazingly red in the face, a second time but, after various set points are saved, he must serve for it.I say Bellucci was inexplicably tentative but actually that isn’t true: thinking he’d done the hard bit, he was trying to make sure he didn’t ruin his good work by playing carefully or, put another way, pressureOh Mattia.Down break point, he wallops the cover off it to seize control of the rally then, coming in, is inexplicably tentative, sending a weak one into the hit zone; Ruud metes out due punishment via forehand pass and leads 6-1 2-1.I’m quite enjoying Bellucci’s top, he’ll be gratified to discover when scrolling through the GBG later tonight.Swings and roundabouts, though – he’s break point down – but a leaping, inside-out backhand saves it and to deuce we move.

Bellucci is playing a bit better now, holding at the start of set two; Ruud does likewise to lead 6-1 1-1.Djokovic, meanwhile, leads Martinez 4-1 in the first.Back to Cain, where Popyrin celebrates with gusto having taken the third set 6-3, serving it out with the help of three aces; he leads Muller 2-1 and is noising up an already excitable crowd.I wondered if Bellucci would give Ruud grief; er, not so far.At 5-1, the Norwegian is serving for the first set, his steadiness to much for an opponent looking to conjure and, as I type, a hold to 15 secures a 6-1 advantage.

On Cain, (what I consider to be) the song of the Australian Open is playing, sorting all of our earworms for the day.Djokovic, with just the 10 Aussie Open's to his name, breaks Martinez at the first time of asking.He leads 2-0 and, as I type, a backhand slice hits the tape and clambers over the net for a winner; from there, he closes out his consolidation for 3-0.