Novak Djokovic brushed aside the challenge of old foe Stan Wawrinka in their first Wimbledon meeting, while world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz had a tough test of his title credentials.
The match didn’t start until 8:40pm, an hour after Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas kicked off on Thursday, but Djokovic finished with a 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) victory with 14 minutes to go. Curfew feared to reserve his place in the fourth round.
The Serb is now unbeaten on Center Court for a decade with his last loss on the world’s most famous tennis court coming against Andy Murray on July 7, 2013.
It was Djokovic’s 31st consecutive win at the All England Club, equaling Pete Sampras’ best, and the seven-time champion said: “I was two points away from extending this match to another day. to be very tight.
“I know I can always play better, I always have a couple changes where I can go higher. Hopefully as the tournament goes on I can play better and better.”
Djokovic launched precision groundstrokes into the corners, drawing errors time and time again from his opponent after hard-hitting exchanges.
Wawrinka’s stats didn’t make for a good read, but it would be hard to criticize the veteran too much, plus a very low first serve percentage, given the barrage of quality coming from the other end.
He served much better in the third set and fought exceptionally hard to force a tiebreak.
Djokovic had won his last 11 Grand Slam tiebreakers and committed no unforced error in six at the French Open. That record was in jeopardy here when Wawrinka went up 5-3, but he was unable to send the contest to a second day as Djokovic booked a date with Hubert Hurkacz.
Speaking about the 17th seed from Poland, Djokovic said: “His serve is extremely powerful and he covers the court very well,” Djokovic said of his next opponent. “He has very long arms and has a very good feeling at the net.
“Overall, he’s a very complete player. I don’t see too many holes in his game. I know he will definitely be the toughest challenge for me in the tournament so far.”
“He is very comfortable playing on grass. He hasn’t dropped a set in the tournament so far and won [Roger] Federer here a few years ago. It’s going to be a great battle. I hope that.”
Carlos Alcaraz easily defeated Frenchman Alexandre Muller without breaking serve to reach the third round
carlos alcaraz he had to work hard in his second Wimbledon Center Court appearance to earn a straight-set win over Alexandre Muller in the second round.
Alcaraz was severely scrutinized by France’s Muller during a match that lasted two hours and 32 minutes, but ultimately progressed 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.
It was seven straight wins on grass for the top seed, who is seen by many as the likeliest candidate to stop Djokovic in his quest for a record eighth All England Club title.
“I feel like I belong on that court. I feel like I’m ready to play more games, to play more big games on that court,” he said.
“There are a lot of great players playing here on grass, who are very, very comfortable on grass. I have to be very, very focused until the final.”
“There are many games ahead. I can’t relax. I have to give my best in each game. Let’s see if I reach the final or not”.
Impressive victories for Rune, Berrettini and Medvedev
Holger Rune wowed a packed crowd on Court Three at the All England Club
Rune Holger he wowed the crowd when he defeated Spaniard Roberto Carlos Baena to advance to the third round.
The charismatic 20-year-old produced his entire repertoire of silky shots to win 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Rune became the fourth Dane to reach the men’s third round at Wimbledon and the first in nearly 20 years.
“He made it very difficult for me and he didn’t give me anything for free, but I think I managed to raise my level and near the end I got incredible support from the crowd,” Rune, who twice had to recover service breaks in the opening set, he said on the court.
“I love getting the fans involved, it was amazing, really cool and I hope we can take it all the way.”
Rune’s playing style and casual demeanor have made him a hit with young fans who chanted “Ruuuuune” at regular intervals, and he responded with some luscious winners and won a multitude of points with cleverly disguised dropshots.
Matthew Berrettini stunned Australian fifteenth seed Alex De Minaur with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory on court 18 as the Italian looks to rediscover his form after injuries have kept him out of the world’s top 30.
“Last year, what happened last year is something that I think hasn’t healed yet. It’s a very sharp pain, if I think about it,” he said.
“I was probably in the best shape of my career, especially feeling great on the grass. I wanted to enjoy the tournament. Such a special tournament for me.”
“Not being able to play was something that, even when I was at my best physically, was very difficult mentally to overcome.
“That’s why I’m here this year, because I missed last year. I was very sad. Even playing some points would have been good this year.”
“That’s why I’m very happy. I’m very happy. I know it’s the third round, but it feels like so much more.”
third seed daniel medvedev He advanced with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Friday after his match was suspended due to bad light the previous day.
The Russian was angry when play was suspended on Thursday night as he led by two sets at 4-4 in the third.
Medvedev returned to court two and duly completed the win to set up a third round matchup with Hungary. marton fucsovics.
“It’s not easy to play two different days. The last time I had it, I lost to Hurkacz here two years ago,” he said.
“At 4-4, it’s never easy. You’re immediately nervous, you don’t want to lose this set because the momentum of the match can change.”
“So I’m happy that we managed to close it out in the tiebreaker. Happy that we made it through and be here tomorrow.”
