Djokovic thumps king of clay Nadal to enter third round
The two greats of the racquet game, both in the evening of their fabulous journey in tennis, have fought many a pitched battle between themselves in their glittering careers.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic romped to victory against Miomir Kecmanovic at the grass-court major, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon on Friday.
The Serbian, the No 1 seed, cruised to a high-class 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 third-round win against countryman Kecmanovic.
Djokovic, who dropped just seven games in defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round, matched that number with another sublime all-around display to overwhelm his opponent on Centre Court, breaking the Kecmanovic serve six times on the way to a one-hour, 52-minute victory.
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It was Djokovic’s 24th consecutive win on grass, drawing him level with Australian great Rod Laver in third place on the Open Era list for longest tour-level winning streaks on the surface.
The 35-year-old Djokovic, going for his 21st Grand Slam title, dominated the all-Serbian match and brushed aside his 22-year-old Davis Cup teammate for a comfortable win.
The six-time champion next faces another man in red-hot form on the grass in Tim van Rijthoven. The Dutch wildcard dispatched Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 earlier on Friday to ease into the fourth round on his Grand Slam main draw debut.
“I think I’ve been playing better and better as the tournament progresses,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview.
“That’s obviously something that you always wish for as a player, that every match that you play you raise the level of tennis up a notch at least, and I think that is what is happening at the moment.” the Serbian was quoted as saying in a report on the ATP website.
“I know I can always do better. I always expect the highest from myself, but I think so far, so good, and looking forward to the”next challenge.”
(Inputs from IANS)
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