Novak Djokovic walked onto Centre Court facing not only a battle with Stefanos Tsitsipas but also the threat of the Wimbledon curfew. The pair started just before 8pm, leaving roughly three hours to finish or risk a Thursday continuation. Djokovic needed longer than that in his first-round win, but this time he had no such concerns.
The 39-year-old dispatched Tsitsipas in just one hour and a half, delivering the best performance of the tournament so far and arguably his best in a long time. A 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory to reach the third round sent a major statement to the rest of the draw. He will now face big-serving Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech on Friday.
Djokovic's Relaxed Demeanour
Djokovic's relaxed demeanour reflected his confidence. After the match, he challenged Rory McIlroy, who was wearing a Green Jacket in the Royal Box, to a tennis match. During play, he even teased a ballgirl: as she used scissors to remove something from his shirt, he pretended to be cut, making her back away in concern before he laughed.
"I guess these kinds of things surface when you are two sets to love up rather than two sets to love down," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "But Stefanos went to change and I had some spare time! I don't know if she's still around, but I'm sorry if I scared her. It wasn't that great of a joke I guess, but it made me a bit more relaxed on the court. I was just having some fun."
Clinical Display
Djokovic's performance was remarkably clean: 33 winners against just seven unforced errors. Tsitsipas was too generous, his backhand again a weakness, and Djokovic ruthlessly exploited it. The Greek gifted a break in the first set to trail 3-1 with a series of mistakes. Tsitsipas had three break points in the next game but Djokovic saved them all. Those were the last break points Tsitsipas would see until the final game of the match.
Djokovic cruised through the set in 27 minutes, and from there the result was never in doubt. Eight rapid holds followed in the second set, but Tsitsipas faltered at 4-4. A poor groundstroke gave Djokovic a break point, which he converted after a brilliant exchange: Tsitsipas could not put away an overhead, and Djokovic scrambled in defence before pouncing. He held to love to go two sets up.
Third-Round Domination
In the third set, Djokovic broke in the fifth game to motor towards victory. Tsitsipas grew ragged, one forehand so wild that the umpire had to swerve to avoid it. At 4-2 up, Djokovic produced what he called "one of the best return games I've played in a while." He read another Tsitsipas overhead, hit a perfect drop shot, and slid along the baseline for a sublime crosscourt winner. That brought up three break points, and he took the second with a lob that left Tsitsipas staring at the roof.
Djokovic received a standing ovation on his way to the chair. Serving for the match, he briefly faltered with a double fault and two loose shots, giving Tsitsipas two break points. But he saved both and brought up match point, which Tsitsipas ended with a long shot. The mauling was complete.
