The world number one Serb claimed a clinical 6-3 7-5 6-4 win over wildcard Tsonga at Rod Laver Arena, a match that finished after midnight and failed to live up to the players’ intriguing rivalry at the year’s first Grand Slam.
A 20-year-old Djokovic edged a fourth-set tiebreak to claim his maiden Grand Slam crown in 2008 against then 22-year-old Tsonga.
Two years later, the Frenchman turned the tables in a five-set classic in the 2010 quarter-finals, crushing Djokovic’s hopes of a second Melbourne trophy.
The players have had a different trajectory since the swashbuckling days of their early twenties but the gap has grown much wider in the past year.
While 31-year-old Djokovic is seeking a third successive Grand Slam title and a record seventh Australian Open crown, Tsonga’s ranking has slipped to 177th after his 2018 season was cut short by knee surgery in April.
The gap was on full show as Djokovic cruised to victory in just over two hours, setting up a mouth-watering inter-generational clash with Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov.
Shapovalov is only 19 but very highly regarded. The Canadian said he would be studying up on fellow left-hander Rafa Nadal’s game in a bid to compete with the Serbian 14-times Grand Slam champion.
Germany's Alexander Zverev wasted a flurry of opportunities before securing a 7-6(5) 6-4 5-7 6-7(6) 6-1 win over unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy to book a place in the third round on Thursday.
Asia's top-ranked men's player Nishikori needed an energy-sapping 3hr 48min to get past big-serving Croat Karlovic 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (10/7) in humid conditions.
Sixteenth seed Raonic emerged the victor against Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion who is on the comeback trail from injury.
The Swiss, unseeded for the first time since his debut in 2006, fell 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (13/11), 7-6 (7/5).
