Wimbledon: Djokovic makes third round for 19th time, eliminates British wildcard Evans
The seven-time champ made just 14 unforced errors as he downed Evans in straight sets
Novak Djokovic (SPP/PSNewz)
Serb Novak Djokovic, the No 6 seed, advanced to the third round of Wimbledon by winning against wildcard Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday afternoon.
He wrapped it up in just over an hour and three-quarters, and was careful to point out how challenging a task it was to face Evans.
“I think everyone knew that it was going to be a special atmosphere today on the court,” said Djokovic, according to the ATP website. “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.”
The seven-time champion brought a sublime level to the second-round match, however, making just 14 unforced errors over the course of three sets as he struck 46 winners. Djokovic was superb on serve, making 78 per cent of first serves and winning all but five points behind the shot (89 per cent). He was commanding at the net too, approaching 26 times for 22 points.
Djokovic, ranked No 6, will face Serb Miomir Kecmanovic next, in what will be his 19th appearance in the Wimbledon third round – a new record.
In the previous round of The Championships, the 38-year-old Serb beat Frenchman Alexandre Muller (6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-2).
Evans, ranked No 154, defeated wildcard Jay Clarke (6-1, 7-5, 6-2) during the first round of The Championships.
London (Grand Slam), other second-round results (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, grass, GBP 53.500.000, most recent results first):
- Ben Shelton vs. Rinky Hijikata
- Marton Fucsovics vs. Gael Monfils
- Jannik Sinner vs. Aleksandar Vukic
- Jack Draper vs. Marin Cilic
- Lorenzo Sonego vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili
- Sebastian Ofner vs. Tommy Paul
- Brandon Nakashima vs. Reilly Opelka
- Pedro Martinez Portero vs. Mariano Navone
- Luciano Darderi beat Arthur Fery (WC): 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
- August Holmgren vs. Tomas Machac: thursday
- Jan-Lennard Struff beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (25): 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-3, 6-4
- Arthur Rinderknech beat Cristian Garin (LL): 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3
- Jaume Munar beat Fabian Marozsan: 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (9)
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (26) beat Botic van de Zandschulp: 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
- Grigor Dimitrov vs. Corentin Moutet: thursday
- Alex De Minaur (11) beat Arthur Cazaux (Q): 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0
- Jakub Mensik (15) beat Marcos Giron: 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
- Miomir Kecmanovic beat Jesper De Jong: 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
- Flavio Cobolli (22) beat Jack Pinnington Jones (WC): 6-1, 7-6 (6), 6-2
- Taylor Fritz (5) beat Gabriel Diallo: 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
- Kamil Majchrzak beat Ethan Quinn: 6-1, 6-4, 6-3
- Mattia Bellucci beat Jiri Lehecka (23): 7-6 (4), 6-1, 7-5
- Jordan Thompson beat Benjamin Bonzi: 7-5, 6-7 (2), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Oliver Tarvet (Q): 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
- Nuno Borges beat Billy Harris: 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
- Andrey Rublev (14) beat Lloyd Harris: 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3
- Karen Khachanov (17) beat Shintaro Mochizuki (Q): 1-6, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Adrian Mannarino (Q) beat Valentin Royer (Q): 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (1)
- Nicolas Jarry (Q) beat Learner Tien: 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
- Cameron Norrie beat Frances Tiafoe (12): 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5
- Joao Fonseca beat Jenson Brooksby: 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
