Novak Djokovic eases into Wimbledon fourth round with comfortable win over Miomir Kecmanovic

LONDON: Novak Djokovic clinically disposed of fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic as he continued his relentless pursuit of a fourth successive Wimbledon title with a 6-0 6-3 6-4 victory on Friday.

The top seed was unplayable in the opening set of his third-round match on Centre Court, taking it in 24 minutes.

Kecmanovic, seeded 25, received the biggest cheer of the day when he finally got on the scoreboard after 35 minutes by taking a long service game.

But Djokovic was streets ahead of his 22-year-old rival as he reached the last 16 at Wimbledon for the 14th time.

The 35-year-old needed just one break of serve in the second set and broke twice in the third to lead 5-2 before blotting his copybook slightly with a couple of loose games.

It only delayed the inevitable, however, as Djokovic completed victory to set up a clash with Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven.

British star Heather Watson and Tunisian Ons Jabeur reached the fourth round while former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko survived a scare but made it to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in four years.

Watson, who made her Wimbledon debut 12 years ago as a teenager and is now 30 and the home favourite, made it to the fourth round at the All-England Club for the first time.

The former World No.38, now ranked No.121, beat Slovenia's Kaja Juvan 7-6(6), 6-2 on No.1 Court on Friday to break new ground at her home Grand Slam. The 30-year-old Watson had reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2012, 2015 and 2017 but could not get past that stage.

Ons Jabeur, the third-seeded Tunisian who emerged champion in Berlin two weeks ago, extended her grass-court winning streak to eight with a 6-2, 6-3 win over French teenager Diane Parry.

Jabeur, who is yet to lose a set in this event, has dropped just 13 games in six sets at the Championships so far. Against Parry on Centre Court, she won both the first five games and the match's last 14 points.

Meanwhile, Ostapenko advanced to the fourth round with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Irina-Camelia Begu in the third round.

Ostapenko's onslaught veered off target in the opening set but she recovered in time, adding 28 winners to her Championships haul. She is through to the second week for the first time since she reached the semi-finals four years ago.

Belgian Elise Mertens stayed solid against an error-prone Angelique Kerber of Germany to defeat the former Wimbledon champion 6-4 7-5 on Friday and reach the fourth round.

Mertens achieved her best showing at the grasscourt Grand Slam in 2019 when she reached the round of 16 and came into Friday's contest having defeated the three-times major winner in their only previous meeting three years ago.

Tatjana Maria shocked 5th seed Maria Sakkari 6-3, 7-5.

In other third round matches, Caroline Garcia beat Zhang Shuai 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), Marie Bouzková beat Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-3.

Coco Gauff beat Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-2, 6-3 to reach the next round.

In men's section, 9th seed Cameron Norrie beat Steve Johnson 6-1, 6-4, 6-0, 5th seed Carlos Alcaraz beat Oscar Otte 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven continued his fairytale grasscourt run on Friday, claiming his eight straight victory on the surface to storm into the Wimbledon fourth round on his Grand Slam main draw debut. He beat 22nd seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-4 6-3 6-4.

American 23rd seed Frances Tiafoe beat Alexander Bublik 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(3), 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time. Agencies

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