London: Novak Djokovic showed his class and hunger for history once again on Thursday at Wimbledon, breezing past Britain’s Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 to move into the third round of men’s singles. The 24-time Grand Slam champion, chasing an eighth Wimbledon crown, needed just one hour and 47 minutes to secure his 99th win at the All-England Club.
Facing Evans for the first time since the Brit’s surprise straight sets win at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters, Djokovic left no room for another upset. The 38-year-old Serb was flawless on serve, losing only nine points across three sets, and comfortably handled Evans’ tricky slice-heavy game.
His clinical performance was highlighted by 46 winners to Evans’ 19, as Djokovic dictated play and kept the home favourite under constant pressure.
“I think everyone knew that it was going to be a special atmosphere today on the court,” Djokovic said. “Obviously, a Brit in Britain is never easy to face. He’s a good quality player who possesses a lot of talent, a lot of touch. For the grass, where the ball stays very low with his slice, he can cause a lot of trouble to you if you are not on top of your game, which I think I was, to be honest, from the very beginning.”
Djokovic’s victory also saw him surpass Roger Federer for the most men’s singles third-round appearances (19) at Wimbledon in the Open Era.
Reflecting on the record, Djokovic joked: “It means that I’ve been playing quite a long time. Nineteen times — that’s a great stat. It’s probably almost as much as Sinner and Alcaraz have as years in their life, but I still enjoy it. Wimbledon remains the most special tournament in my heart, the one that I always dreamed of winning when I was a kid, so any history made here is obviously extra special for me.”
Next up for Djokovic is fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who fought back to beat Jesper de Jong in four sets earlier in the day. A win in that clash would give Djokovic his landmark 100th match victory at Wimbledon.
I was preparing well for the match, technically and tactically. I knew what I needed to do, and I executed perfectly,” Djokovic said. “Sometimes you have these kinds of days when everything goes your way and everything flows. It’s good to be in the shoes and holding a racquet on a day like this, no question about it.”
(IANS)
