Dip doesn’t do in Djokovic
Defending champ drops set, then cruises into quarterfinals
WIMBLEDON, England — Even knowing what a chaotic Wimbledon this has been, what with so many unexpected results and new faces popping up, and so few top seeds — and fewer major champions — remaining, surely Novak Djokovic would not lose to a wild-card entry making his Grand Slam debut, would he?
If it didn’t quite seem plausible, it did at least become vaguely possible a tad past 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night under the closed roof at Centre Court, when 25-year-old Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven — ranking: 104th; lifetime tour-level victories: eight, all in the last month — had the temerity to smack a 133 mph ace past Djokovic and even their fourth-round match at a set apiece.
All of nine minutes later, the time it took Djokovic to grab 12 of the next 15 points, and the next three games, both plausibility and possibility took a hike. Soon enough, the third set was his, and not much later, so was the fourth, and the match, a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 result that gave the tournament’s No. 1 seed a 25th consecutive grass-court victory at the All England Club and a place in his 13th Wimbledon quarterfinal.
“Novak did his Novak thing,” van Rijthoven said, “and played very, very well. He had all the answers.”
Beforehand, van Rijthoven had said: “I’ll go into that match thinking I can win.” Might have still had that sense Sunday evening.
Eventually, though, the only true question was whether Djokovic would wrap this one up in time, because there is an 11 p.m. curfew (he closed the deal with 20 minutes to spare). They didn’t begin playing until 8 p.m., in part due to a delay of roughly an hour at the start of this special afternoon — the first time in history the tournament’s middle Sunday held scheduled play — while a ceremony was held to honor the 100 years of Centre Court.
Djokovic was among the many past champions who took part, joking to the crowd when it was his turn to speak, “Gosh, I feel more nervous than when I’m playing.”
If he was, indeed, jittery at all at a set apiece many hours later against van Rijthoven, it didn’t show. Didn’t matter that van Rijthoven kept cranking out huge serves, to the tune of 20 aces. Didn’t matter just how big the cuts were that van Rijthoven took with his flat forehands. Didn’t matter that the spectators, who love an underdog, were getting louder as the second set came to a close. Didn’t matter that Djokovic slipped behind the baseline twice, landing first on his backside, later on his knee and stomach.
Djokovic, a 35-year-old from Serbia, calibrated his best-in-the-game returns, got his groundstrokes in fine form — finishing with just 19 unforced errors, compared to 29 winners — and was in complete control, a step closer to all manner of important numbers. His pursuit of a fourth consecutive, and seventh overall, title at Wimbledon, not to mention a 21st major championship, will continue Tuesday against No. 10 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy.
Sinner reached his first quarterfinal at the All England Club by eliminating No. 5 Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 earlier.
The other quarterfinal on their half of the bracket will be No. 9 Cam Norrie of Britain against unseeded David Goffin of Belgium. They each advanced by beating Americans: Norrie beat No. 30 Tommy Paul 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to get to his first major quarterfinal, and Goffin edged No. 23 Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 over more than 4 ½ hours.
The rest of the fourth round is Monday, and the only men left in the field who ever have participated in a Slam final are Djokovic and 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal.
At a glance
LOOKAHEAD TO MONDAY: There’s no more “Manic Monday” at Wimbledon, although there will be plenty of intriguing fourth-round matchups nonetheless. Nick Kyrgios will be first out on Centre Court, trying to follow up his win over Stefanos Tsitsipas by beating American Brandon Nakashima, who has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Second-seeded Rafael Nadal will face Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands later. Simona Halep, the only former Grand Slam champ remaining in the women’s draw, faces fourth-seeded Paula Badosa, also on Centre Court. Amanda Anisimova tries to follow up her win over Coco Gauff by beating Harmony Tan, the Frenchwoman who ousted Serena Williams in the first round. Before play on middle Sunday was introduced this year, the second Monday usually featured all 16 men’s and women’s fourth-round matches.
SUNDAY’S KEY RESULTS
Women’s fourth round: No. 3 Ons Jabeur beat No. 24 Elise Mertens 7-6 (9), 6-4, Tatjana Maria beat No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko 5-7, 7-5, 7-5, Marie Bouzkova beat Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-2, Jule Niemeier beat Heather Watson 6-2, 6-4.
Men’s fourth round: No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat Tim van Rijthoven 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, No. 10 Jannik Sinner beat No. 5 Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3, No. 9 Cameron Norrie beat No. 30 Tommy Paul 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, David Goffin beat No. 23 Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.