Djokovic, Kyrgios Move Into Wimbledon Fourth Round
World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic eased into the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating 27th-seeded Australian Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.
The top-seeded Serb picked up a break point on his only chance to take the opening set, and two more breaks of serve in the next set allowed him to take a commanding two sets to love lead.
Djokovic played a clean game, 38 winners to 12 unforced errors, and saved all three of the break points he faced.
He will take on 14th-seeded South African Kevin Anderson in the fourth round. Anderson beat 24th seeded Argentinean Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-3.
The number 26 seed Nick Kyrgios put on a show in one of the earlier matches of the day, coming back from a set down to defeat seventh-seed Milos Raonic 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-3.
The young Australian secured a break at 5-5 in the second set to snag momentum, and the match belonged to him after that. He consolidated the break with a hold, firing three aces in the final game, to take the second set.
He didn’t allow a break point in the final three sets and hit 34 aces overall. His game included a few flashy between-the-legs shots to entertain the crowd.
Kyrgios, who seems to play his best tennis on the biggest stages, will meet 21st-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet next, after Gasquet routinely beat 11th-seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I’m just going to have the same mindset,” said Kyrgios of his next match. “Serve well and play aggressive. If I’m doing that, then I’ve got a pretty high chance of winning the match.”
French Open champion Stan Wawrinka continued his good play on Friday. The fourth-seeded Swiss beat Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to advance. His return game allowed him 16 break point opportunities, and though he only converted on three of them, he picked up one in each set to win in straight sets.
Wawrinka will play 16th-seeded Belgian David Goffin, who took out Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday.
American Denis Kudla also advanced with a 6-2, 6-7(3), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo, who advanced last round due to fifth-seed Kei Nishikori’s withdrawal. Kudla will play the winner of the match between 17th-seeded American John Isner and ninth-seeded Croat Marin Cilic.
