After a monumental upset, it was inevitable that there would be a drop in mood on Rod Laver Arena as the crowd descended from the heights reached by the Williams-Ivanovic game. However, the drop in tension didn’t mean a drop in quality as world No. 2 and three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic took on the enigmatic Italian 15th seed Fabio Fognini. Although the match appeared as if it would be a routine straight-sets victory, it could have been tricky for Djokovic to navigate as he looked to seal a quarterfinal meeting with either Stanislas Wawrinka or Tommy Robredo.

Attempting to avoid an early elimination, Djokovic was on the ball early. By using his all-court game to great effect, he wore out Fognini and forced him to hit 19 unforced errors to just 10 from the Serbian world No. 2. Djokovic was also able to penetrate Fognini’s serve as the Italian made only 59% of his first serves throughout the match.

Djokovic’s ability to draw out Fognini’s vulnerable service games meant he earned a whopping 22 break points in the 6-3 6-0 6-2 victory. The time spent attempting to hold his own serve, combined with Novak’s impenetrable service games, led to Fognini’s inability to earn a break point in the whole match. He was essentially bullied out of a match that nobody really expected him to win. Facing a man whose last defeat came at Melbourne Park in 2010, he was attempting to climb a tennis version of Mt Everest. The disparity in the quality of the players was clear as Djokovic hit 33 winners to just 20 from Fognini.

After the match, a quietly pleased Djokovic reflected on the confidence he’s gained from a 25-match winning streak at the Australian Open. “I feel great about myself in this moment,” he remarked. “There is this confidence that I carry on from the many wins that I had in the last two months of the 2013 season, and I started off this season in a good style. I’m trying to keep it up.”

While deflecting compliments about the way he played, he acknowledged that it wasn’t always easy against the 26-year-old Italian. “I knew that he's a flashy kind of player that, if he feels good, if he's focused enough, he can be a very dangerous opponent on any surface,” Djokovic acknowledged. “He won against Querrey the round before. He's top 15 in the world. He's playing the best tennis of his life in the last year and a half. All the facts say enough about his qualities, that he can challenge anybody. So I did not take anything really for granted.”

Across the path at Margaret Court Arena, the Czech seventh seed and constant under-the-radar flier Tomas Berdych appeared just as comfortable in his straight-sets dispatch of South African Kevin Anderson. Berdych, who draws as many detractors as he does fans, never looked ruffled in a 6-2 6-2 6-3 rout of the 19th-seeded Anderson.

Hitting 38 winners to just 17 unforced errors, Berdych was impressive as he looked to make a statement indicating that he had the game to make it to the final weekend. Although he was out-served by the tall South African, Berdych was assisted by an erratic Anderson who made 31 winners to 30 unforced errors. Anderson wasn’t allowed to settle on his serve as Berdych held 18 break points and won 63% of the points on his opponent’s second serve. This led to Berdych breaking five times in the match before shutting the gate after less than two hours, taking a 10-0 lead in this favorable head-to-head.

Having such a dominant record over Anderson, Berdych drew on his experience against other players on the tour and said he wasn’t afforded any mental or physical edge each time he and Anderson met.

“When I play Nikolay Davydenko, my first nine matches I lost. I know how the feeling is to approach those matches,” the relaxed Berdych said. “Then, I think it was the 10th or 11th match which I made it for myself. I beat him in Wimbledon. Then all the things start to go the other way. I start to have more confidence in the matches when I play. I always have to be really focused, very ready for that every game, because it could come every time. The winning streak could end. But I'm trying to extend it as much as I can.”