Federer and Djokovic stroll into next round
Novak Djokovic celebrates his win. want players to feel that way. The moment you become scared of moving properly, it’s really difficult to play.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what they are going to do when there is no play. They have time to figure out how they are going to prepare them for tomorrow.”
While grass is Federer’s favourite surface, it’s more of an acquired taste for Djokovic.
He needs strong footwork to execute his killer groundstrokes and he noticed a big difference in the standard of Centre Court during his victory yesterday.
“I could see there was a difference in the grass,” he said. “It was a bit softer, especially around the baseline area.
“I haven’t had that kind of experience at Wimbledon before. The courts here are always perfect.
“Different weather conditions affect the grass and the more you play on it, the worse it is.”
Djokovic now plays Adrian Mannarino, who caused the surprise of the day as he came from two sets to one down to upset No. 15 seed Gael Monfils in three- and- a- half hours in an all-French battle.
Monfils has never shown a liking for grass despite his physical attributes and his miserable record of never reaching the last-16 goes on.
Last year’s runner-up Milos Raonic made it through to the second week with the minimum of fuss as he brushed aside Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas.
Raonic has struggled for form this year but he remains a formidable obstacle on the grass, especially with his huge serve.
Ramos-Vinolas failed to muster up a single break point against the “Milos Missile” and it was fitting that the Canadian wrapped up a comfortable three- set victory with his 21st ace of the day.
Raonic was even able to demonstrate his awesome power by hitting one second serve ace at a whopping 138mph.
In a first week dominated by injuries, Israel’s Dudi Sela became the ninth man to retire from Wimbledon when he pulled out of his match with Dimitrov with a groin problem.
However, the outcome was never in doubt as Dimitrov had raced through the opening two sets for the loss of just two games, playing some scintillating all-court tennis.
The Bulgarian knocked out Andy Murray on his run to the semi- finals three years ago and now plays Federer and wasn’t afraid to talk up his chances.
“I’m only really focused on myself and I feel like I can beat anyone right now,” he said.
The shortest action of the day saw the swift exit of No.12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
He returned to Court 2 after his match with American Sam Querrey had been suspended on Friday night with Tsonga trailing 5-6 in the final set.
The popular Frenchman promptly lost his serve and so Querrey advanced to a meeting with South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the last-16.