Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic moved into the third round at Wimbledon for a record 19th time with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 victory against home favorite Daniel Evans on Thursday in London.
The sixth-seeded Serbian struck 11 aces, won 88.9 percent of the points (40 of 45) behind his first serve and saved both break points in the one-hour, 47-minute triumph. Djokovic finished with a decisive 46-19 edge in winners and made only 14 unforced errors.
“I think everyone knew that it was going to be a special atmosphere today on the court,” Djokovic said. “Obviously a Brit in Britain is never easy to face. ‘Tricky’ is maybe not a great word, but he’s a good quality player who possesses a lot of talent, a lot of touch. For the grass, where the ball stays very low with his slice, he can be causing a lot of trouble to you if you are not on top of your game, which I think I was, to be honest, from the very beginning.”
Djokovic, 38, boosted his career record at Wimbledon to 99-12. He will go for No. 100 against compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic, a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 winner against Jesper De Jong of the Netherlands.
“It means I’ve been playing quite a long time,” Djokovic quipped after surpassing Roger Federer for the most third-round appearances at the grass-court major in the Open Era.
“Nineteen times. That’s a great stat. It’s probably almost as much as (Jannik) Sinner and (Carlos) Alcaraz have as years in their life, but I still enjoy it. This sport has given me so much. … Wimbledon remains the most special tournament in my heart, the one that I always dreamed of winning when I was a kid, so any history made here is obviously extra special for me.”
Top-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy dominated Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in one hour, 40 minutes. The World No. 1 had more aces (12-3) and winners (38-14), didn’t record a double fault, saved all four of his break points and converted six of nine break-point opportunities.
Fourth-seeded Jack Draper of Great Britain had the home-court advantage but couldn’t get past Croatia’s Marin Cilic, who won 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. Cilic hit 53 winners and 16 aces, and he saved five of seven break points.
Austria’s Sebastian Ofner dropped the first set before upsetting 13th-seeded Tommy Paul 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5. Ofner fired nine aces and saved 10 of 14 break points while converting all four opportunities to break Paul.
Danish qualifier August Holmgren knocked off No. 21 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 7-6 (5), 6-7 (8), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) in four hours and 39 minutes. Holmgren saved three match points during the fourth set to engineer a comeback.
Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff eliminated No. 25 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-3, 6-4 in three hours, 11 minutes.
No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia also advanced the third round with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux. Czech teenager Jakub Mensik, the No. 15 seed, defeated Marcos Giron 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4). No. 22 Flavio Cobolli of Italy ousted British wild card Jack Pinnington Jones 6-1, 7-6 (6), 6-2. No. 29 Brandon Nakashima won an all-American match with Reilly Opelka 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-3.
Other winners were Spain’s Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez, No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego and Frances’ Arthur Rinderknech.
Two matches were suspended on Thursday due to darkness. No. 10 Ben Shelton was leading his match against Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-2, 7-5, 5-4. Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and Gael Monfils of France split the first four sets, (with Fucsovics listed first), 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 0-0.
No. 26 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain completed his suspended match from Wednesday, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Also, Italy’s Luciano Darderi finished his match suspended by darkness, beating Brit Arthur Fery 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
–Field Level Media
