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Wimbledon: Djokovic marches into round three, outdoes Federer in an interesting stat

Wimbledon: Djokovic marches into round three, outdoes Federer in an interesting stat

Times of Oman2 days ago
London: Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic marched to the third round of the ongoing Wimbledon tournament, defeating home favourite Daniel Evans in a three-set match on Thursday.
Djokovic defeated Evans by 6-3, 6-2, 6-0, as per ATP's official website.
Djokovic was facing Evans for the first time since Briton secured a stunning win over him at Monte Carlo Masters back in 2021. This time around, the 24-time Grand Slam champion settled the scores with a classy all-round performance.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion was on point with his serves and dealt well with Evans' slice backhand during the course of the one-hour, 47-minute match.
Speaking after the match, Djokovic said, "I think everyone knew that it was going to be a special atmosphere today on the court," said Djokovic.
"Obviously, a Brit in Britain is never easy to face. 'Tricky' is maybe not a great word, but 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 be causing 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," he added.
Now, Djokovic is past Roger Federer, his arch-rival, for most men's singles third round appearances at Wimbledon in the Open era and has a brilliant 99-12 record at the Grand Slam event.
"It means that I've been playing quite a long time," joked Djokovic, on his new third-round appearance record.
"Nineteen times. That is a great stat. It is probably almost as much as (Jannik) Sinner and Carlos (Alcaraz) have as years in their life, but I still enjoy it. This sport has given me so much... 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," he added.
The next round will witness Djokovic battle compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic. The No. 49 player in the ATP Rankings, earlier defeated Jesper de Jong 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Djokovic outdid Evans with 46 winners to 19 and has a solid win-loss record of 23-8 this year, including his 100th ATP Tour-level title at Geneva back in May.
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