Djokovic reaches round three and another milestone

AFP

Another day, another milestone reached for Novak Djokovic as he racked up Grand Slam victory number 350 by dispatching Australia's Jordan Thompson at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

The defending champion was given a thorough workout by Thompson but always looked in control at the crucial moments as he won 6-3 7-6(4) 7-5 to move into the third round.

He joins Roger Federer and Serena Williams as the only players to have reached 350 wins at the Slams, but the 36-year-old has his eyes firmly fixed on higher goals.

Playing with his usual clinical accuracy he eventually subdued Thompson who offered up some thing rare at Wimbledon these days - some serve and volley tennis.

It certainly kept Djokovic honest but the second seeded Serb, bidding to win a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon and fifth in a row, always looked in control.

Thompson, ranked 70, was within two points of levelling the match at the sharp end of the second set but once Djokovic came through the tiebreak with a couple of timely aces thrown in, there was only really likely to be one outcome.

That said, Thompson, given loud backing by the Centre Court crowd desperate to see a contest, refused to slink away.

But serving at 5-6 in the third set the Australian could not keep Djokovic at bay and he netted a volley to end the contest.

Djokovic extended his winning streak on grass to 30 matches, with his last defeat coming against Marin Cilic in the 2018 Queen's Club final, but admitted he was pushed hard.

"He was a bit unlucky in the second set. He had some chances but yeah, he played a great match and deserves a big round of applause for sure," Djokovic said.

While Djokovic certainly does not need any help as he aims for a 24th Grand Slam title to match the all-time record of Margaret Court, things are certainly falling his way.

He has avoided being snagged by the rain delays and the draw looks inviting.

Up next is either Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka, who he famously lost to in the French Open final eight years ago, or Argentina's 29th seed Tomas Etcheverry.

Wawrinka and Etcheverry will play their delayed second-round match on Thursday after it was one of several matches cancelled because of rain delays on Wednesday.

More from Sports News

  • Swiatek, Gauff through to Australian Open 2nd Round

    World number two Iga Swiatek advanced to the second round of the Australian Open on Monday with an unconvincing 6-3 6-4 win against first-time opponent Katerina Siniakova on John Cain Arena.

  • Sinner survives tough test, Alcaraz eases through

    Jannik Sinner launched his Australian Open title defence with a 7-6 7-6 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry on Monday in a match that put the players' contrasting doping cases in the spotlight, while Carlos Alcaraz began his bid to complete a career Grand Slam with a 6-1 7-5 6-1 win over Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko.

  • DP World ILT20 Season 3 kicks off

    The stage was set on Sunday for the highly anticipated return of the DP World ILT20 Season 3, promising to mesmerise cricket fans across the globe.

  • Amorim sees progress in Man Utd's shootout win at Arsenal

    Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said his team are still improving, as Sunday's dramatic FA Cup penalty shootout victory over Arsenal points to a more positive future after a difficult start to life at Old Trafford.

Blogs