Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic continued his impressive run at the All England Club, booking his place in the fourth round with another composed performance.
The seventh seed defeated 25th-seeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) to advance to the last 16 of The Championships.
The match lasted three hours, with Novak reaching the Wimbledon fourth round for the ninth consecutive year and recording his 105th career victory at the tournament.
Novak struck first, breaking serve in the fifth game of the opening set, but Rinderknech responded immediately to level at 3-3. The remainder of the set was tightly contested until the Serbian earned another crucial break in the 11th game. This time he made no mistake, serving out the set confidently after 49 minutes to take a one-set lead.
The second set opened with an early test for Novak, who had to save a break point in the second game despite leading 40-15 to level at 1-1. He responded immediately by converting his third break opportunity in the following game to move ahead 2-1. Serving exceptionally well and committing just three unforced errors throughout the set, Novak never allowed his opponent to threaten consistently. Although he missed two chances to secure a second break in the ninth game, Rinderknech escaped with some powerful serving to close the gap to 5-4. Novak then calmly served out the set to extend his lead to two sets.
The third set belonged entirely to the Frenchman. Novak unexpectedly lost his rhythm, while Rinderknech raised his level and took control with aggressive baseline tennis. Two breaks of serve quickly gave the Frenchman a commanding advantage, and after only 18 minutes he wrapped up the set 6-1 to force a fourth.
The fourth set featured no break points as both players held serve comfortably throughout the twelve games. The outcome was decided in a tie-break, where neither player managed a mini-break until the closing stages. Djokovic elevated his level at exactly the right moment, winning the final two points on his opponent’s serve to seal victory and secure his place in the second week.
Statistics: aces (15-21), double faults (3-4), winners (40-67), unforced errors (16-25), total points won (108-117).
Awaiting Novak in the fourth round is Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin, currently ranked no. 132 in the world, who earned his place in the main draw through qualifying.
Safiullin produced one of the surprises of the tournament in the third round, defeating 24th seed Joao Fonseca in straight sets. Fonseca had previously eliminated Novak in the third round of this year’s Roland Garros.
Novak and the 11-years-younger Safiullin will meet for the fourth time on Sunday, with the Serbian having won all three of their previous encounters.
Photo: Profimedia