Fourth seed Djokovic, seeking a record-extending 11th Melbourne Park title and 25th Grand Slam trophy overall to break the deadlock with Margaret Court, maintained his steady grip on the second-round clash today without needing to shift into top gear.
"I didn't know much about him (Maestrelli) until a few days ago, it happens more often than not these days," Djokovic said about his 23-year-old opponent after beating him in straight sets 6-3 6-2 6-2.
"But the respect is always there and I didn't underestimate him. He's got a big serve and a big game, only lacking a bit of experience. He's got the game to go far and high in the world rankings and I wish him that."
Djokovic, 38, raced through the opening set and pounced again in the opening game of the second set to heap pressure on world number 141 Maestrelli.
The win was the Serbian's 399th Grand Slam match victory, and his 101st in Melbourne, leaving him one shy of record‑holder Roger Federer. Djokovic will next meet Botic van de Zandschulp.
Lorenzo Musetti, the fifth seed, won the battle of the Italians on Margaret Court Arena as he defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 6-3 6-4 and will next face either Stefano Tsitsipas or Tomas Machac.
"It was not an easy match to prepare, to play, and to deal with because Lorenzo is one of my best friends on tour," said Musetti.
"We recently had a title together in doubles, so we shared a lot of nice memories, so it's not easy to separate those things in the court."
Eighth seeded Ben Shelton had few issues against Australia's Dane Sweeny, the American claiming a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win to set up a third round meeting with Valentin Vacherot, who defeated Australia's Rinky Hijikata in straight sets.
Keys stumbles
Women's title holder Keys, the ninth seed in the draw, notched up a 6-1 7-5 win over fellow American Ashlyn Krueger, but was less than convincing after powering her way through the opening set.
The defending champion allowed doubts to creep into her game in the second set, handing Krueger two breaks on serve with a succession of double faults before battling back to progress to the next round to face Karolina Pliskova.
"I started really well, and I think Ashlyn started a little slow, and then I was fully expecting her to raise her level, which she did," Keys said.
"Once I kind of got that momentum, I tried to sink my teeth into the set, and do whatever I could to get back into it."
Sixth seed Jessica Pegula had few issues against doubles partner McCartney Kessler, handing out a comprehensive 6-0 6-2 defeat to her fellow American in 58 minutes and set up a meeting with Russia's Oksana Selekhmeteva in the third round.
Amanda Anisimova, also from the US, booked her place in the next phase with a 6-1 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova and the fourth seed will next face compatriot Peyton Stearns.
Aussie qualifier pulls off epic win
Inspired qualifier Maddison Inglis has ridden an emotional rollercoaster in her first grand slam appearance in four years to book a spot in the Australian Open third round.
Inglis has joined compatriot and big gun Alex de Minaur in the round of 32 after defeating German veteran Laura Siegemund 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-7) in a tense, gruelling and sometimes fiery match today that lasted three hours and 20 minutes on ANZ Arena.
After failing to serve out the match in the second set, the 28-year-old's hopes of progressing seemed over.
But in mirroring her first-round win over close friend Kim Birrell, when she failed to convert a gilt-edged opportunity, Inglis turned it around by breaking back when Siegemund was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set.
Despite appearing to injure herself late when stretching for a ball, she recovered and overcame some nervous moments to win the first-to-10-point tiebreaker.
Inglis fell to the ground after winning the final point in a tense rally, becoming the only Australian woman to make the third round.
"I didn't come in with high expectations. I can take it to anyone on any given day, but I wouldn't have dreamed of this. In the third set the crowd gave me the energy I didn't think I had. Coming into this I hadn't played a match for six weeks."
Currently ranked 168 but sure to rise to the cusp of the top 100, Inglis equals her best result at a major, which came at Melbourne Park four years ago.
After 11 Australians qualified for the second round, de Minaur and Inglis will likely be the only ones still left.
De Minaur eventually demolished Serb Hamad Medjedovic 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 after being outplayed in the first set and a rain delay last night.
- Reuters and AAP
