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DAY 4 MEN'S WRAP: Djokovic and Sinner cruise through, Dimitrov dazzles

tennis03 July 2025 19:39| © AFP
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Novak Djokovic stepped up his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title as he moved into the Wimbledon third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 rout of British wildcard Dan Evans on Thursday.

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Djokovic needed just one hour and 47 minutes to dispatch Evans with a ruthless display in the second round on Centre Court.

The sixth seed struggled with stomach issues in his four-set win against Alexandre Muller, praising the "miracle pills" he took during the first round for his strong recovery.

There were no lingering effects for the seven-time Wimbledon champion as he overwhelmed Evans with 46 winners.

Djokovic is dreaming of putting an exclamation point on his incredible career by becoming the most successful singles player in tennis history.

The 38-year-old has been tied with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam titles since winning his most recent major prize at the 2023 US Open.

And despite losing the last two Wimbledon finals against Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic believes the lawns of south-west London provide his best chance to win that elusive 25th major.

After losing to Sinner in the recent French Open semifinals, Djokovic is in the unusual position of no longer being regarded as the Wimbledon title favourite, having failed to make the title match in his previous three Grand Slam appearances.

Djokovic, who won his 100th tour-level title in May in Geneva, has been dogged by questions about when he will retire since fulfilling his long-held desire for Olympic singles gold in Paris last year.

But he would draw level on a record eight men's Wimbledon singles titles with Roger Federer if he wins the grass-court event for the first time since 2022, and on this evidence he is in the mood to make history at his favourite tournament.

Evans, 35, had won his only previous meeting with Djokovic on clay in Monte Carlo four years ago and the Serb claimed he was the kind of tricky opponent he would have preferred to avoid.

But Djokovic's concerns were unfounded as he wore down Evans with his relentless ground-strokes to take the first set.

Djokovic had never lost a Grand Slam match to a player ranked as low as world number 154 Evans and the Serb wasn't about to make unwanted history.

The second set was barely competitive and the third followed a similar pattern as Djokovic cantered to an efficient victory.

SINNER THRASHES VUKIC

World number one Jannik Sinner demolished Australia's Aleksandar Vukic 6-1 6-1 6-3 in a Centre Court masterclass to move ominously into the third round.

Sinner, bidding to win the title for the first time, never loosened his grip on a one-sided contest although he did need six match points to finish off Vukic in a prolonged final game.

There was never any chance of a repeat of last month's French Open final when he squandered three match points in a spellbinding clash with Carlos Alcaraz though, and he duly slammed down his 12th ace as the light began to fade.

"I struggled a bit to close it out. I'm very happy, Centre Court is such a special occasion," Sinner said.

"Yes, I enjoyed (the last game) because I won the game! If not, I don't know. The match can change very, very quickly. If he breaks me there it can go long distance."

Apart from a defeat by Alexander Bublik in Halle in the build-up to Wimbledon, Sinner has shown few ill-effects from the heartache of losing to Alcaraz in Paris.

He parted ways with his trainer and physiotherapist, Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, days before Wimbledon, but even that strange timing does not seem to have ruffled his feathers.

With so many seeds having fallen by the wayside already, his path through to the latter stages looks clear.

The 23-year-old has yet to drop serve, has conceded only 12 games in the six sets he has played so far and will now train his sights on unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez as he continues his quest to become Italy's first Wimbledon champion.

Not that he is getting ahead of himself.

"Every opponent is very difficult. Third-round matches in Grand Slams are always special," he said.

"We saw so many upsets this tournament so we try to stay focused and raise our level. Today I thought the level was good. I can improve a few things but I am looking forward to it."

The Italian was streets ahead of the 93rd-ranked Vukic who barely laid a glove on the top seed in the opening two sets before saving face with some third-set resistance.

ONE FOR THE PURISTS AS DIMITROV BEATS MOUTET

It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semifinal and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed 'Baby Federer' would win a Grand Slam title.

There were semifinal runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that but it has never quite happened and with him being seeded 19th at this year's Championships it most likely never will.

Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned it into baseline warfare.

For those still pining for now retired eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, Dimitrov offers some comfort and so for tennis connoisseurs, a sunny Court Three was the place to be for his match with tricky French player Corentin Moutet on Thursday.

They were not disappointed either as the entertaining duel was full of artistry and flair.

Despite giving away eight years to an opponent who reached his first grasscourt final last month in Mallorca, Dimitrov emerged with a 7-5 4-6 7-5 7-5 victory to prolong his 59th successive Grand Slam appearance, the most of any active player.

It was far from comfortable for the former world No 3 despite striking 64 winners and he required some occasional help from his opponent, notably a double-fault from the flamboyant Frenchman on set point in the third.

The bearded Moutet, ranked 69, stayed in the match with some stunning tennis in the fourth set, bowing to the crowd at one point after racing back to retrieve a lob and replying with a winning lob of his own, played between his legs.

It was another entry to his show-reel that included one mind-boggling drop-shot, also through the legs, in his opening round win against Argentina's Francisco Comesana.

In the end, however, it was Dimitrov's more refined gamed that held sway. The 2008 Wimbledon junior champion broke serve at 5-5 in the fourth and then held his own delivery to reach the third round here for the seventh time.

CILIC TOPPLES DRAPER TO WRECK BRITISH HOPES

Jack Draper's hopes of joining the list of home-grown Wimbledon champions were snuffed out in spectacular fashion by Marin Cilic when the Croatian made a mockery of his low ranking to topple the fourth seed 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 in the second round.

Despite now plying his trade mostly on the second-tier Challenger circuit after his ranking went into freefall, plummeting outside the top 1,000 following knee surgery in 2023, Cilic made sure his return to Wimbledon for the first time in four years was memorable.

All the deafening roars and cheers of the partisan Court One crowd could not save Draper from losing five games on the trot from 4-4 in the first set.

That sequence handed Cilic the first set, with the Croatian producing a scorching service return on set point before he surged into a 3-0 lead in the second.

It was enough to give world number 83 Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up, a two-set cushion.

He appeared to ease off the throttle in the third to raise hopes of a Draper comeback, but the British left-hander knew he was in trouble when he had to save two break points at 4-3 down in the fourth and two games later it was all over.

Draper dragged a forehand wide following a lengthy rally to hand Cilic a remarkable victory considering the Croatian had not won back-to-back matches on the main tour for the past nine months.

Cilic will meet Spain's Jaume Munar for a place in the fourth round.

DE MINAUR BATTLES BACK TO BEAT CAZAUX

Australia's 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur recovered from a poor start to beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 in a second-round match that took almost three hours.

SHELTON ALMOST INTO THIRD ROUND

American Ben Shelton needs just one more game to reach the third round after his match with Australian Rinky Hijikata was suspended with the 10th seed 6-2 7-5 5-4 up.

MORE RESULTS

Pedro Martinez (ESP) bt Mariano Navone (ARG) 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6)

Brandon Nakashima (USA x29) bt Reilly Opelka (USA) 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3

Jaume Munar (ESP) bt Fabian Marozsan (HUN) 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9)

Flavio Cobolli (ITA x22) bt Jack Pinnington Jones (GBR) 6-1, 7-6 (8/6), 6-2

Jakub Mensik (CZE x15) bt Marcos Giron (USA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4)

August Holmgren (DEN) bt Tomas Machac (CZE x21) 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (8/10), 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 7-6 (10/5)

Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) bt Jesper de Jong (NED) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP x26) bt Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5)

Luciano Darderi (ITA) bt Arthur Fery (GBR) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) bt Christian Garin (CHI) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3

Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN x25) 3-6, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3, 6-4

Sebastian Ofner (AUT) bt Tommy Paul (USA x13) 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5

Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) bt Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4)

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