Novak Djokovic enjoys flawless night at beloved Rod Laver Arena

World no. 1 Novak Djokovic earned his 76th Australian Open victory following a dominant performance against Jeremy Chardy, beating the Frenchman for the 14th time in a row.

Novak ousted Jeremy 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 in an hour and 31 minutes, dominating on both serve and return for another impressive performance at his beloved Rod Laver Arena. Serving at 75%, Djokovic gave away eight points behind the initial shot and never experienced troubles, stealing almost half of the return points to earn six breaks and march over the top. The defending champion hit 41 winners and 11 unforced errors, controlling the pace and overpowering the rival with deep and precise groundstrokes that carried him through.

"It's an ongoing love affair between Rod Laver Arena and me. Hopefully, I can have many great matches this year with this type of performance. I wanted to start well, competing for the first time this year at the night session. It's extraordinary to be back on one of the most special courts around the world. It's my most successful court, every time I step on it I re-live these memories. It felt great, it was pretty much a perfect match.

Overall, I think that every shot I executed tonight was on a high level. I'm delighted with the way I opened the Australian Open. You are expected to win most of the time as a top player and kind of ease your way through the first rounds, but, I don't see it that way.

You still have to do your job on the court. On the days like this where you feel very comfortable, you try to relax and do few other things. But you can't step away too much from your comfort zone, so I was sticking to the game plan in a way," Novak Djokovic said.