Novak Djokovic builds momentum with dominant victory at Wimbledon

Japan Times

a day ago

Novak Djokovic showed signs that he is easing into the old routine at Wimbledon as the seven-time champion sauntered into the third round on Thursday while Barbora Krejcikova also made it through as her title defense continued.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner also eased into round three as his pursuit of a first Wimbledon title gathered pace, with the Italian thrashing Australia's Aleksandar Vukic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
But Britain's big hope, No. 4 seed Jack Draper, ran in to an inspired Marin Cilic and joined the exodus of seeded players from the men's draw which now totals 18 in the opening two rounds.
Despite fervent home support on Court One, Draper was outgunned 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 by big-serving Croatian Cilic, who produced the kind of tennis that took him to the 2017 final.
"It's not the pressure, it's not the whatever," said Draper, who is regarded as Britain's successor to two-time champion Andy Murray. "I just didn't play good enough today. I lost to a better player. I came up short."
This year's tournament has been littered with big names biting the dust early, and while Draper's loss sent shockwaves around the All England Club, Day 4 provided some big statements from players favored to make deep runs.
Former women's champion Elena Rybakina arrived very much under the radar and reached the third round while losing just seven games. The No. 11 seed destroyed Greece's Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1 in 62 minutes.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, surprisingly yet to go past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, is another who will quietly fancy her chances, and the Pole looked impressive as she rallied from a set down to beat Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
Djokovic struggled past Alexandre Muller on Tuesday when he was hampered by stomach issues.
Two days later, however, he was at his ruthlessly efficient best in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of popular Briton Dan Evans on Centre Court.
The 38-year-old is bidding to equal Roger Federer's men's record of eight Wimbledon titles and claim an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam crown. While most of the talk is about top seed Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz meeting in the final, the Serbian should not be dismissed.
He has reached the last six Wimbledon finals and clearly believes he will still be around on July 13.
"Technically, tactically I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I executed perfectly," Djokovic said after his 99th match win at Wimbledon since making his debut in 2005.
"Sometimes you have these kind of days, where everything goes your way, everything flows, and it's good to be in the shoes and holding a racket on a day like this."
Czech Krejcikova, a surprise winner last year, found herself out on Court 2, where the 17th seed produced a typically businesslike display as she battled past American Caroline Dolehide, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
She will face a much more dangerous American next in Emma Navarro after the 10th seed crushed Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 6-2.
With four of the top five women's seeds already gone, the draw looks wide open for players such as Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva, who beat Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 7-6 (7-4).
Swiatek will also be fancying her chances as she prepares for a match against American Danielle Collins.
Asked to explain the early defeats of so many favored players such as French Open winner Coco Gauff and last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini, Swiatek kept it simple.
"Sometimes we will lose early because the schedule is pretty crazy," she said. "You can't win everything."
More than half of the 32 men's seeds have perished before the third round, with 13 failing to clear the first hurdle, but those remaining reasserted themselves on Thursday.
Australian No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur beat Arthur Cazaux 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0, while powerful Czech teenager Jakub Mensik, seeded No. 15, beat American Marcos Giron 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7-4) to underline his credentials as a dangerous floater.
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, playing in his 59th successive Grand Slam, may no longer be considered a genuine title threat but, more than a decade since reaching his sole Wimbledon semifinal, he showed he is still a class act as the No. 19 seed beat tricky Frenchman Corentin Moutet 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
There were still casualties though.
American No. 13 seed Tommy Paul needed treatment on a foot injury on his way to a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 defeat against Austria's 165th-ranked Sebastian Ofner.