Defending champion Serbian Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of a seventh Wimbledon title as he reached the quarter-finals with a four-set win over Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven.
Bidding for a fourth successive triumph at the All England Club, the top seed won 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-2 on Centre Court.
Van Rijthoven, ranked 104th, delighted the crowd as he took the second set.
But 20-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic, 35, responded emphatically to that setback and will meet Jannik Sinner next.
The six-time champion makes it 25 match wins in a row at Wimbledon.
▪️ 83rd Wimbledon match-win
▪️ 25th consecutive win on grass
▪️ 13th Wimbledon quarter-final@DjokerNole continues to dominate on Centre Court#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/eQw49ktm45— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2022
After the match Novak Djokovic was full of praise for his beaten opponent.
“I have never faced him before,” Djokovic said. “He is kind of a new face on the tour, and won his first ATP Tour match in the tournament he won a few weeks ago.
“He was on the streak on this surface and I knew it was not going to be easy with that serve and a great touch, powerful forehand.
“He can do a lot of damage and it took me a bit of time to get used to his pace.
“Conditions under the roof are a little different, a little slippery, so it takes a bit of adjustment.
“Overall I closed out the match well.”
A thank you from one legend to another.@DjokerNole was thrilled to see @BillieJeanKing still in attendance at 10:45pm on Centre Court#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/B8BI964dho
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2022
Novak Djokovic was thrilled to see Billie Jean King still in attendance at 10:45pm on Centre Court.
Asked about whether he was aware of the cut off time, Djokovic said: “11 o’clock. I am lucky. 20 minutes.
“I have had some previous experience of playing a match over two days under the roof, against (Rafael) Nadal a few years ago, so it is never pleasant if you can’t finish the match in the same day, so I am looking forward to the next challenge.”
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