Melbourne: Novak Djokovic trumpeted the benefits of his plant-based diet Friday in helping him thrash Yoshihito Nishioka and move into the Australian Open fourth round. The Serbian defending champion swept past the Japanese 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in just 85 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to reach a Grand Slam round of 16 for the 50th time—second only to Roger Federer's 67.

"I love playing on the court. I like the conditions," said the World No. 2 after firing down 17 aces, along with 40 winners. "I'm starting to feel very, very comfortable and compact on the court. I'm going to try to keep that going." The win set up a clash with 14th seed Diego Schwartzman for a place in the quarter-finals after the Argentinian beat Djokovic's countryman Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7).