Anthony Joshua: British heavyweight to make comeback against Jermaine Franklin

Novak Djokovic defeats Minaur to reach Australia Open quarter-final

Novak Djokovic made light work of home hope Alex de Minaur as he continued his pursuit of a record-extending 10th men’s title at the Australian Open.

Serbia’s Djokovic, 35, still had his left thigh strapped but he looked in no trouble as he won 6-2 6-1 6-2.

The fourth seed will play Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.

Rublev, seeded fifth, saved two match points - and fought back from 5-0 down in a final-set tiebreak - to beat Danish teenager Holger Rune.

Later on Monday, the 25-yearold discovered he would face Djokovic after the former world number one had too much quality for 22nd seed De Minaur.

On the prospect of facing Djokovic, Rublev joked: “No-one wants to face Novak, I want to be in the other half of the draw.”

Djokovic has been wearing strapping all tournament to protect a hamstring injury and asked for treatment in a medical timeout during his third-round win over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.

But, despite the concerns of his fans, he moved freely in a confident win against De Minaur, which took two hours and six minutes.

“I kept my focus all the way through to play my best match of this year so far,” Djokovic.told BBC Sports

British heavyweight Anthony Joshua will fight Jermaine Franklin on 1 April at the O2 Arena in London.

Joshua, 33, who lost back-toback fights to world champion Oleksandr Usyk, will be seeking a first win since beating Kubrat Pulev in 2020.

Franklin was beaten on points by Briton Dillian Whyte in

Zambia,

November, marking a first loss in 22 fights for the 29-year-old American.

“I’m looking forward to stepping back into the ring,” said Joshua.

“Mentally and physically I feel ready. I want to put on a show and impress my coach as he has high standards.

“Franklin has a good style and a great attitude, which he has shown in recent fights.”

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5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce: Katie’s coming home Joshua, a two-time world champion, lost by split decision as he sought to recapture the unified heavyweight titles from Usyk in August.

That was the Watford fighter’s third career defeat in 27 bouts, following a shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 which he later avenged.

Franklin said: “I’m ready to show the world why it’s time for me to take my place at the top of the heavyweight division.

“Joshua had his time. It’s my time to shock the world.”