World No.4 Djokovic on Sunday night received a walkover directly to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park after an abdominal strain brought rising Czech star Jakub Mensik's campaign to a premature end.
His progression will mark the Serbian superstar's 16th final-eight appearance at Melbourne Park and a record-extending 65th grand slam quarter-final overall.
With an 11th Australian Open triumph, Djokovic would surpass Margaret Court as the only player to win 25 grand slam singles titles.
Ten-time Open champion Djokovic will enjoy Monday off before facing either Italian fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti or American world No.9 Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
A potential semi-final against two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner, who struggled with the heat in a four-set third-round victory over Eliot Spizzirri, looms after that.
The extra break will likely help the 38-year-old Djokovic, who became the first player to 400 grand slam singles wins when he beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4) on Saturday night.
The injury is heartbreaking for Mensik, the 16th seed, also beat Djokovic in straight sets in the Miami final last year.
The 20-year-old confirmed his withdrawal via a post on Instagram.
"This is a tough one to write," Mensik wrote.
"After long conversations with my team and doctors and after doing everything we could to keep going, I have to unfortunately withdraw from the Australian Open due to an abdominal injury that has progressed over the last matches.
"Even though I'm disappointed, making the 4th round here for the first time is something I will carry with me for a long time.
"... Now it's time to recover properly. I'll be doing my best to be back on court soon!"
