Djokovic sweeps past Giraldo

Melbourne - Defending champion Novak Djokovic swept past Colombia's Santiago Giraldo in straight sets to reach the third round at the Australian Open on Thursday.

The Serbian top seed cruised to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win in 1hr 42min over the 56th-ranked Giraldo and will face either Japan's Tatsuma Ito or Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the last 32.

Djokovic was always in command of the match on Rod Laver Arena, breaking the Colombian's serve seven times to breeze through.

The Serb hit 27 winners, eight of them on the backhand.

The world number one is chasing his third consecutive grand slam in Melbourne after winning Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

Only four men on five occasions have won three or more consecutive grand slams in the Open era -- Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer twice.

His Australian Open triumph over Andy Murray last year was the first of seven straight tournament wins in a 41-match winning streak that was finally ended by Federer in the semi-finals of the French Open.