Djokovic ousts rival; faves continue march

LONDON—Down a break at 3-1 in the first set, defending champion Novak Djokovic kept his cool on the hottest day in Wimbledon history.

Running off 13 points in a row, Djokovic seized command and stayed in front the rest of the way on Centre Court as he beat Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the third round of Wimbledon on a sweltering day at the All England Club.

With temperatures soaring into the mid-30s C (mid-90s F), former champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova and French Open winner Stan Wawrinka also won in straights sets.

Exiting the tournament were fifthseeded Kei Nishikori, who pulled out with a calf injury before his secondround match, and No. 7 Ana Ivanovic, who fell in straight sets to American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Nieminen started fast, breaking serve in the opening game and going up 3-1. But the top-ranked Djokovic won the next three games, including two at love, and never let Nieminen—playing in his final Wimbledon before retirement—back into the match.

Williams, the top-ranked five-time champion, won her 23rd consecutive Grand Slam match, serving 12 aces in a 6-4, 6-1 win over Timea Babos of Hungary in a late Centre Court match.

Wawrinka, seeded No. 4, held serve throughout and beat Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic 63, 6-4, 7-5.

Fourth-seeded Sharapova, the 2004 champion, beat Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp, 6-3, 6-1.

In one of the tightest matches of the day, No. 9 Marin Cilic—the 2014 US Open champion—needed more than 3 1/2 hours to overcome 90th-ranked Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, 6-3, 46, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-5.

Cilic will next face John Isner, the 17th-seeded American who beat Matthew Ebden, 6-2, 7-6 (8), 6-4.