Novak Djokovic vs Radek Stepanek in the Australian Open takes place on Friday as the men’s world number 1 ranked player looks to continue on the path to yet another Grand Slam. The match is scheduled to start at approximately 11.30 p.m. ET and can be watched online through live stream (link is provided below).

This third round match will see Djokovic come up against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

Stepanek is seeded 31st in the Australian Open for the Men's Singles title. However, he has struggled so far and almost never made it past Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the first rounf. In that previous tie Stepanek took five sets to defeat his opponent, having lost the opening two sets.

However, it was thanks to his persistence and finally finding his form that he was able to fight his way back from two sets to love down to still win through the match. The final set was a tense affair but the Czech player held his nerve to win 7-5 and take the set and the match.

In the second round he faced Feliciano Lopez and looked in much better form, playing with more consistency and efficiency. He won the match in straight sets, sweeping Lopez with ease.

However, his tie today is an entirely different challenge, and he faces the defending 2011 and 2012 Australian Open champion.

Djokovic has been untroubled to make it this far in the tournament, and he has dropped just 17 of the 53 games he has played in the first two rounds. He defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the first round and then Ryan Harrison of the USA was knocked out in straight sets. Djokovic is still to lose a set in the Australian Open this year coming into this match up.

Novak Djokovic vs Radek Stepanek is scheduled to start at about 11.30 p.m. ET and can be watched online through free live stream by clicking here.

Here is a video of a Novak Djokovic press conference interview a few days ago in the Australian Open 2013:

Tags: tennis