London: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic continued his fine run at Wimbledon, advancing to the third round with a hard-fought win over British wildcard Jacob Fearnley on Thursday. Though Djokovic was not at his best, he managed to defeat Fearnley in three grueling hours with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
In front of a capacity crowd cheering for the British star, Djokovic seemed poised to capture a straight-sets win as he broke Fearnley’s serve midway through the third set. However, Fearnley fought back to win the set, extending the match. Djokovic responded with intensified play in the fourth set, securing a crucial break during the 11th game to claim victory in his first-ever match against Fearnley.
Following the game, Djokovic praised Fearnley’s performance and the element of surprise he brought. He also lauded the Brit for his serving skills.
“It was a great effort from Jacob, he played great. I had not had a chance to see him play before until two days ago. There is always an element of surprise and nothing to lose. Playing him at Wimbledon was always going to be tough. Most of the British players grow up being exposed to grass courts, quick surfaces, so they know how to play,” said Djokovic, as quoted by ATP. “I thought he served very well. It was very difficult to break his serve. He made me work. I was probably a bit lucky in the fourth not to go a break down. I could have won the match in three but this match potentially deserved to go into a fifth, with the way he played in the fourth. But I am very glad it did not.”
In another match, Arthur Fils advanced to the third round for the first time after Hubert Hurkacz was forced to retire due to a leg injury. Fils was leading 7-6(2), 6-4, 2-6, 6-6 (9/8) at the time.
Meanwhile, Hurkacz’s fellow top 10 stars, Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov, secured their spots in the third round as well. De Minaur defeated Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-2, 7-5, earning his 35th tour-level win of the season by converting eight of 17 break points in a match that lasted just over two hours. Dimitrov faced a tougher challenge against Shang Juncheng but fought back from two sets down to win 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. A semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2014, Dimitrov will face Gael Monfils in the third round. Monfils, the 37-year-old veteran, defeated three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(3).
