Novak Djokovic Closes In On New Wimbledon Milestone After Evans Win - UBITENNIS

Novak Djokovic Closes In On New Wimbledon Milestone After Evans Win

By Adam Addicott
4 Min Read

LONDON: Novak Djokovic is a victory away from claiming a 100th win at Wimbledon after disposing of Dan Evans in the second round. 

The Serbian sixth seed rallied to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0, triumph over wildcard Evans, whom he lost to in their only previous encounter in 2021 at the Monte Carlo Masters. Djokovic is through to the last 32 at SW19 for the 19th time in his career, which is more appearances than any other player in the Open Era. This year, he is seeking an eighth Wimbledon title that would put him level with former nemesis Roger Federer on the all-time list. 

“It means that I have been playing for quite a long time,” Djokovic joked about his longevity afterwards, whilst conducting his on-court interview.

“I still enjoy it. This sport has given me so much. Wimbledon still stays the most special tournament in my heart, the one I dreamed of when I was a kid. Any history made here is extra special for me. “ He added

Thursday’s encounter on Centre Court wasn’t entirely straightforward for Djokovic early on, who failed to convert nine break point chances across three separate games during the opening set. Eventually, he broke down the Evans serve 43 minutes into the match before sealing the opening set with a love service game. 

Gaining in momentum, Djokovic then breezed through the second and third frames against the former world No.21, whose unforced error count started to rise. He won 11 out of the last 12 games to claim his most one-sided win at the tournament (in terms of games dropped) since his first round win 12 months ago.

“I knew it was going to be a special atmosphere on the court, playing a Brit in Britain is never easy to face,” Djokovic commented.

“He’s a good quality player who possesses a lot of talent. For the grass where the ball stays very low with his slice, he can cause a lot of trouble for you if you’re not on top of your game. Which I think I was from the very beginning.

“I was preparing well for the match, I knew what I needed to do and I executed perfectly. Sometimes you have these kinds of days when everything goes your way.”

As for 35-year-old Evans, he exits the tournament knowing that this could have been the last time he played on the biggest court of his home Grand Slam. In a recent interview, Evans estimated that he has roughly a year left in his career and intends to step away quietly from the sport when the time is right to do so.

“I appreciate the chance to play on Centre Court again. Bottom line is I may never get another chance,” said Evans.
“I think I’ve still got some tennis in me, which was what I was looking for.
“There will definitely be some sort of chat at the end of the year, what I want to do, not with life.”

Awaiting Djokovic next will be compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic, who has beaten 30th seed Alex Michelsen and Jesper de Jong so far in the tournament. Since 2012, he has only suffered two losses to fellow Serbian players on the Tour. They were to Janko Tipsarevic at the 2012 Madrid Masters and Dusan Lajovic at the 2023 Banja Luka Open.

In Wimbledon’s history, only Roger Federer (105) and Martina Navratilova (120) have recorded more victories than Djokovic.  

Leave a comment