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Serbian tennis star continued his fine run at the Wimbledon competition, moving into round three with a hard-fought win over British wildcard Jacob Fearnley on Thursday.
During the match, though Djokovic did not look at his best, he still defeated Fearnley after three grueling hours by 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. In front of a capacity crowd cheering for the British star, Djokovic was about to capture a straight sets win over the youngster, as he managed to break his serve midway through set three. However, Fearnley roared back to win the set and extend the game. Djokovic delivered a more intensified response in the fourth set, getting a crucial break during the 11th game of the set to secure the victory in his first-ever game against Fearnley. Following the game, Djokovic hailed Jacod's performance and the element of surprise he offered. The legend also lauded the Brit star 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," he added. In the other game, Arthur Fils advanced to round three for the first time ever after Hubert Hurkacz was forced to retire due to a leg injury, while Fils was leading at 7-6(2), 6-4, 2-6, 6-6 (9/8). On the other hand, Hurkacz's fellow top 10 stars, Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov secured their third round spots as well, with De Minaur defeating Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 and getting his 35th tour-level win of the season, converting eight of 17 break points during the match that lasted just over two hours. Dimitrov was in real trouble during his match against Shang Juncheng, but fought back from being two sets down, winning by 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. A semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2014, Dimitrov will face Gael Monfils in this year's third round. Gael Monfils, the 37-year-old, beat three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(3). (ANI)
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