Wimbledon – Novak Djokovic dismisses Stan Wawrinka in three sets and joins the round of 16 (6-3, 6-1, 7-6)

Novak Djokovic continues his journey in this Wimbledon. Imperial, the Serb won his ticket for the round of 16 of the London tournament after a success in three sets against Stan Wawrinka (6-3, 6-1, 7-6), Friday evening. It took 2h06 of play for the world No. 2 to dismiss his executioner from the finals of Roland-Garros 2015 and the US Open 2016. With this 31st success in a row at the All England Club, he equaled the record for consecutive victories in the Pete Sampras tournament (1997-2001).

Djoko still king of the tie-break

The shock of the day was not really one. Well above during the first two acts, Djokovic went it alone for more than an hour (1h07 exactly), without ever being worried. Then, the match was rebalanced in the third set where Wawrinka was able to rely on a more present first ball. Opposite, the Serb was slightly out of order on the restart. He was also less comfortable in terms of movement, he slipped a lot on the grass of Center Court.

This last act was played in the decisive game, the kingdom of the man with 23 Grand Slams. For the first time in ages, the Belgrade native came close to losing one in a Grand Slam. But he once again tightened the game when necessary. Led 5-3 after a superb passing from Wawrinka on the backhand, the four-time defending champion was not leading wide, while a few moments earlier he was in control of this decisive game (3-1). A moment of unconcentration on her part put Stan back in the game.

At 5-4, on a second ball, the Swiss played badly on Djokovic’s backhand return and offered the mini-debreak. At 5-5, when he could once again afford a set point, the Vaudois paid dearly for not passing his first ball. On his second, Djoko’s return hampered him and forced him to play his backhand while stepping back, which led to a foul at the net. On his first match point, at 6-5, the Serb finished the job. Some Djoko in the text.