By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) – Ageless Novak Djokovic reached yet more milestones at a sun-drenched All England Club as he advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round with his 105th victory on the lawns on Friday, while top seed Jannik Sinner showed he was slowly warming to the task of defending his title.
The 39-year-old Djokovic, aiming for a men’s record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown and outright record 25th Grand Slam title, beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) with another vintage Centre Court display.
Italian world number one Sinner, whom Djokovic could meet in the semi-finals, has taken a while to stamp his authority on his return to the grass but stepped up a level as he outclassed American Jenson Brooksby 6-4 6-3 6-4.
While Djokovic and Sinner dominated the spotlight, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime continued to fly under the radar as he moved past American Michael Zheng 7-6(1) 6-2 6-1 for a meeting with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka also moved ominously into the last 16 as she comfortably dispatched Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 6-4 in a high-octane Centre Court duel.
Sabalenka’s bid for a first Wimbledon title faces a big test next in the shape of Japan’s Naomi Osaka who paired her flair off the court with growing confidence on it to thrash Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 and reach the last 16 for the first time.
Coco Gauff, another Grand Slam champion for whom Wimbledon has proved a tricky puzzle to solve, scrambled into the fourth round past fellow American Claire Liu, winning 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 after squandering match points in the second set.
Iva Jovic, one of 15 Americans to advance to the third round of the singles draws, continued to impress as the 18-year-old beat experienced Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 3-6 6-4.
But it was the end of the road for two 19-year-old dark horses in the men’s draw as Brazil’s Joao Fonseca and Spain’s Rafael Jodar got reality checks with defeats to qualifiers.
Fonseca, the 24th seed, was outplayed by Russian Roman Safiullin 6-3 6-3 6-3 while Jodar crumbled to Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki, going down 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4.
DJOKOVIC LOOKS TO MOVE PAST FEDERER
Djokovic will face Safiullin next when he could take sole ownership of second place on the all-time list of most Wimbledon match-wins ahead of Roger Federer with whom he drew level on Friday while also equalling the Swiss maestro’s record of 18 fourth-round appearances.
“I propose a match-up between me and Roger for 106,” seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic joked in his on-court interview after celebrating the win with some “dad dancing” for his laughing daughter Tara.
“Let’s just stop it here and call Roger to come.”
For two sets Djokovic had all the answers against the dangerous 25th seed Rinderknech who last year shocked Alexander Zverev in the opening round.
Djokovic’s precision shot-making and trademark elasticity had the crowd roaring their approval and the Serb lapped it up, at one point offering a regal bow after one diving volley winner.
But things took an unexpected turn as Rinderknech romped through the third set, coming within two points of serving Djokovic his first 6-0 drubbing in a set at Wimbledon.
Djokovic was pushed to the limit in the fourth set and needed a flawless tiebreak to end Rinderknech’s resistance, both players ending up on the deck on match point.
Sinner has improved after his first-round scare against Miomir Kecmanovic and he looked dominant against Brooksby.
“Trying to move better. Return today was a little bit better. So all things considered, today was a small step forward,” said Sinner, who faces 151st-ranked Shintaro Mochizuki next and cannot face a seed until the semi-finals.
END OF THE ROAD FOR MEDVEDEV
Eighth seed Daniil Medvedev could have been a quarter-final opponent for Sinner but the Russian went down 7-6(4) 7-6(5) 7-5 to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Sabalenka’s clash with 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko was expected to provide some fireworks but she enjoyed a relatively routine victory.
“She is really dangerous. Last match I played against her, I couldn’t do anything, she just smashed me off the court,” Sabalenka, who is yet to drop a set, said on court.
“The plan is to get better every day. A little better level every time I am competing on this beautiful grass.”
She may need an extra gear against fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka.
“I’m ready to fight and do whatever it takes to get through,” Sabalenka said.
American fourth seed Jessica Pegula continued to work her way through the draw as she beat Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro while 11th seed Belinda Bencic needed a deciding set tiebreak to edge past Anna Kalinskaya.
Barbora Krejcikova, the 2024 Wimbledon champion, took out Nikola Bartunkova 6-3 7-5 and will next take on another fellow Czech in 10th seed Karolina Muchova, who ended the run of Thai Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-2 7-6(1).
(Reporting by Martyn Herman and Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; editing by Pritha Sarkar and Clare Fallon)
