Djokovic eyes Wimbledon century, Swiatek steps up challenge
The seven-time champion, locked with the long-retired Margaret Court on 24 majors, dropped a set in his opening match but lost just five games in total in the second round against British wildcard Dan Evans.
A third-round clash against Serbian Davis Cup team-mate Miomir Kecmanovic will hold few fears for the sixth seed, who has not lost against his 49th-ranked compatriot in three previous meetings.
If Djokovic beats his compatriot he will reach a century of victories at the All England Club, a feat only surpassed by eight-time champion Roger Federer, who won 105 times on the lawns of southwest London and Martina Navratilova, who chalked up 120 victories.
"If I play like this, I feel like I have a very good chance against anybody, really, on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, a place where I maybe feel the most comfortable on any court," Djokovic said after beating Evans.
Djokovic's first Wimbledon win came against Argentine Juan Monaco 20 years ago, when Kecmanovic was aged just five.
"I saw him first at the Serbian Open and he was my idol. The more I played, the more I saw what he could do on court and the more I admired," Kecmanovic said.
Swiatek has quietly gone about her business at this year's Wimbledon but will have watched the exit of most of her top rivals with interest.
The five-time Grand Slam champion is seeded eighth at the All England club after slipping down the rankings, though she is now back in the world's top four after reaching the Bad Homburg final last week.
Sinner in the groove
The Pole, who faces American Danielle Collins in the third round, has won at least one Grand Slam in four of the past five years, though she has never been beyond the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
But a glance at the draw makes interesting reading, with world number one Aryna Sabalenka the only player remaining from among the top six seeds.
Swiatek, who has won four titles on the French Open clay, was beaten by former Australian Open finalist Collins at the Italian Open in May.
Collins, 31, postponed her retirement in October when ranked ninth in the world but has tumbled to 54th in the rankings after an inconsistent season.
Defending women's champion Barbora Krejcikova, 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina and highly rated teenager Mirra Andreeva will also be looking to reach the last 16.
Russian seventh seed Andreeva meets American world number 55 Hailey Baptiste and Rybakina, seeded 11th plays Danish 23rd seed Clara Tauson.
Krejcikova faces American 10th seed Emma Navarro of the United States.
World number one Jannik Sinner has barely broken sweat so far as he settles in on grass following his painful defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, where he squandered three championship points.
The Italian top seed has played two matches so far and lost just 12 games in easing past Luca Nardi and Aleksandar Vukic.
On Saturday the 23-year-old meets Spain's Pedro Martinez, whom he beat in their only meeting in 2022.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Alcaraz faces reformed Rublev as Sabalenka eyes Wimbledon glory
World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the big favourite for the women's title ahead of her meeting against Elise Mertens, while British hopes now lie in the hands of Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie. AFP Sport looks at the matches to watch on day seven of the tournament at the All England Club: Win or lose 'in the right way' for Rublev Alcaraz has yet to hit top gear in south-west London after dropping three sets in his three matches en route to round four. Yet, Rublev is aware he has to be at the top of his game to cause an almighty upset and break his curse of never progressing beyond a Grand Slam quarter-final. The world number 14 has reached the last eight on 10 occasions without ever making it to a semi-final. "You cannot show any weaknesses," said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz. Rublev has already enjoyed a much happier time at Wimbledon than 12 months ago when he repeatedly smashed his racquet over his own leg during a shock first-round exit. But he has credited the influence of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, himself a notorious hothead in his prime, for bringing some calm to his game. "There are two options," he added. "Try to go deeper. Or if I lose, to lose it in a mature, adult way. "That would be success as well, to lose it in the right way." Pressure-proof Sabalenka a 'new person' Sabalenka is the only woman left standing of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club. The three-time Grand Slam champion missed last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Sabalenka overcame a stern test of her tennis and temperament to end British favourite Emma Raducanu's run in the third round in arguably the match of the tournament so far. After losing control of her emotions in defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final last month, the Belarusian said she feels like a "different person". She added: "Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, you have to be calm, and you just have to keep trying and keep fighting. "I was just reminding myself that I'm strong enough, and I can handle this pressure." Kartal enjoying the spotlight After the exits of Raducanu and world number four Jack Draper, Kartal and Norrie are tasked with maintaining British interest. South Africa-born Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist three years ago, will fancy his chances of progressing against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry. Kartal, meanwhile, is enjoying the spotlight after reaching her first ever Grand Slam fourth round, where she will face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. "I enjoy it. I think it's an honour. Obviously you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things," said the 23-year-old. "I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging," she added.
France 24
14 hours ago
- France 24
Sinner equals Wimbledon mark for dominance in first three rounds
Sinner crushed Spanish world number 52 Pedro Martinez, who was carrying a shoulder injury, in a 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 third-round demolition on Centre Court on Saturday. The 23-year-old Italian's loss of only 17 games from his three matches equals the SW19 Open Era record set by Jan Kodes in 1972. "About the games lost, this is whatever. I'm not looking at these kind of records. I know that everything can change very quickly from one round to the other," Sinner said. When Bjorn Borg won the title without dropping a set in 1976, he had conceded 27 games over the first three matches, while Roger Federer, the only other man to achieve the feat in 2017, had lost 28. Sinner is yet to have his serve broken and has faced just eight break points, four of which were repelled against Martinez. He has spent only five hours and 23 minutes on court so far, which is six minutes less than his French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month. © 2025 AFP
France 24
15 hours ago
- France 24
Djokovic 100 not out, into fourth round at Wimbledon
Djokovic said before a ball was struck at the All England Club this year that Wimbledon presented his best chance to surpass the 24 majors won by the long-retired Australian Margaret Court. A seven-time champion in south-west London, Djokovic is showing he is a credible contender for his first Slam victory since 2023. The 38-year-old has dropped just 12 games in his last two matches after romping to a 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 victory in just under two hours on court. Djokovic's 100 wins puts him behind only Roger Federer's 105 victories in the men's game and nine-time winner Martina Navratilova's all-time record of 120. Conserving his energy could prove vital in the second week with Djokovic likely to have to beat both the world's top two players, Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, if he is to lift the trophy on July 13. He faces Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur in the fourth round.
