Djokovic breezes through
> Serbian cruises into Wimbledon third round as Gulbis sinks Del Potro
NOVAK DJOKOVIC shrugged off sweltering 30-degree heat to breeze past outclassed Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 and reach the Wimbledon third round yesterday.
The three-time champion brushed aside the 136rd-ranked Czech on Court One to make the last-32 for the ninth year in succession.
Djokovic, the second seed whose shock third round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon 12 months ago precipitated a worrying decline in form, will next face Ernests Gulbis, who sprang a Wimbledon surprise as the world No. 589 defeated former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro 64, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
“It was a very warm day, it wasn’t easy to play point after point and some long rallies,” said Djokovic as his comfortable Wimbledon continued following a first round in which opponent Martin Klizan had retired hurt after just 40 minutes.
“But overall, from the very beginning I managed to impose my own rhythm and play the game I intended to play.
“I feel better as the days go by in Wimbledon. I’ve been in this particular situation before many times and I’ll try to use the experience to get myself in the right shape.”
The 28-year-old Gulbis was ranked in the top 10 in 2014 – the year he beat Roger Federer en route to the French Open semifinals.
Since then, Latvian has slumped badly and his Wimbledon opening round win over Victor Estrella, was his first on tour in 13 months, a decline which has seen his ranking crash to his lowest position in 12 years.
Watched by compatriot and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, he was in charge from start to finish against Del Potro.
Bernard Tomic may have been knocked out but the Australian was still making waves yesterday when he was fined $15,000 after claiming he was “bored” during his lacklustre defeat to Mischa Zverev.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev was slapped with a $14,500 fine after a series of disputes with umpire Mariana Alves during his five-set loss to Ruben Bemelmans in the second round.
Medvedev ended the match by throwing coins in the direction of umpire’s chair although he insisted the bizarre gesture was not meant to imply that the official was corrupt.
Meanwhile, the injuries continued to pile up at Wimbledon when Belgium’s Steve Darcis, who famously knocked out Rafael Nadal four years ago, retired at 3-0 down to David Ferrer.
Bulgarian 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov was untroubled as the 2014 semi-finalist breezed past Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
Australia’s miserable Wimbledon singles campaign came to a suitably downbeat end when Arina Rodionova was beaten 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) by Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas.
Rodionova was Australia’s last hope of Wimbledon singles success this year after a dismal series of first and second round defeats for her compatriots.
The 27-year-old battled through three qualifying matches to make the Wimbledon main draw and saved seven match points in her dramatic first round upset of Russian 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
But Rodionova, the world No. 166, had lost her three previous meetings with Diyas and she was unable to break her duck against the world No. 130.
America’s Bethanie MattekSands suffered a horror knee injury at Wimbledon yesterday which left her screaming and crying in pain in the middle of the court.
The 32-year-old collapsed to the ground after damaging her right knee as she approached the net in the first game of the deciding set against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea on Court 17.
“Please help me, please, please,” screamed the 32-year-old in scenes so distressing that television cameras panned away from the stricken player. – AFP