Novak Djokovic reached his 12th Wimbledon quarter-final with a 6-2 6-4 6-2 win over Cristian Garin.
The world number two didn’t need to play his best to cruise past the Chilean to reach the last eight for a 12th time at Wimbledon.
Next for Djokovic will be Marton Fucsovics after he beat Andrey Rublev in five sets.
It was a tight start from Garin, who was playing on Centre Court for the first time in his career.
This showed as Djokovic effortlessly dictated the points and denied the world number 20 any opportunity to produce his best tennis.
Some high-quality returning saw the defending champion storm to a double break lead at 4-1.
Slowly Garin built up his confidence with some good point construction on serve.
However Djokovic did close out the opening set to love taking the opening set in 1 hour and 51 minutes.
The second set was the best set of tennis as Garin started to produce effective patterns of play, firing winners past the Serb.
Djokovic had to fend off a couple of breaks early in the set as the Chilean started to produce the type of tennis that produces consistent results on the tour.
On the serve, Garin did well to save a couple of break points and force Djokovic to step up his level.
In the seventh game the Chilean once again produced some bold tennis to save three break points as Djokovic seemed bewildered at his ability not to produce his best tennis.
But that didn’t matter because eventually the world number one broke to 15 in the ninth game as pressure finally told.
Another efficient hold sealed a two set to lead as Garin’s hopes faded rapidly.
Djokovic took control and finally dominated with his best tennis of the match with his movement and depth of groundstrokes proving too much for the Chilean.
Two more breaks clinched the match as Djokovic’s bid for a third consecutive Wimbledon title continues to strengthen.
After the match Djokovic was pleased to reach another quarter-final, “I am very delighted,” the Serb said in his on-court interview.
“Also delighted to see more fans on the Centre Court today. Pleasure to see you all. Thank you for coming. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
“It’s tough to recall the first time I played here. I can recall that this court has also evoked the most special feeling, butterflies, nervousness that any court can evoke in a player.”
Next for Djokovic will be Marton Fucsovics after he edged past Andrey Rublev 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-0 6-3.
