Wimbledon 2014: Novak Djokovic wins after injury scare
- Published
Novak Djokovic moved into the fourth round with a 6-4 6-2 6-4 defeat of Frenchman Gilles Simon at Wimbledon.
The Serb hurt his shoulder in the third set when he landed heavily but was otherwise untroubled.
The world number two will play 14th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga next after the Frenchman beat Jimmy Wang 6-2 6-2 7-5.
Croatia's Marin Cilic beat Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets, finishing in some controversy in the gloom at 21.38 BST.
Cilic, the 26th seed, won 7-6 6-4 7-6 but Berdych was fuming throughout the third set tiebreak after play was allowed to continue despite the Hawk-Eye line-call system being turned off because of the fading light.
"Well, how was it possible?" said Berdych, who remonstrated with the umpire over what he felt were a number of bad line calls.
"I lost all the will to talk to that guy any more. I saw so many mistakes from him."
South Africa's Kevin Anderson beat 16th seed Fabio Fognini in five sets. The 20th seed won 4-6 6-4 2-6 6-2 6-1 and will play Britain's Andy Murray in round four.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, seeded 11, came back to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 2-6 6-4 6-1 and will play Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, who beat Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 in round four.
Fifteen seed Jerzy Janowicz resisted a typically gutsy comeback by 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt, the Polish player eventually prevailing 7-5 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 4-6 6-3 to reach the third round.
It was Australian Hewitt's 42nd five-set match in Grand Slam tournaments, breaking Andre Agassi's record for the Open Era.
"I am one injury away from hanging up the bats," said the 33-year-old Hewitt. "But I still enjoy doing the hard work for moments like today, playing five-setters against the best guys in the world."
Colombian Santiago Giraldo beat 30th seed Marcel Granollers 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 1-6 6-1 7-5 to set up a third-round match against seven-time champion Roger Federer.
Djokovic was leading 3-2 in the third set and seemingly closing in on an uneventful victory when he dived to reach a forehand and appeared to twist his left arm.
The 2011 champion looked in extreme pain but a trainer manipulated his shoulder and the 27-year-old was able to continue.
"It was obviously a scary fall," said six-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who had an ultrasound after the match.
"Luckily for me it only had a minor effect on the joint and the muscles around it and caused no significant damage. It's looking good."
Djokovic has the weekend to recover before playing Tsonga, whom he has beaten eight matches in a row, in the fourth round.
"Tsonga's a great grass-court player, he loves the energy of the big stadium and it is going to be a big challenge for both of us," said Djokovic.
After his defeat by Anderson, Italian Fognini questioned the decision to schedule their match on Court 17, suggesting his first-round fine for threatening officials was to blame.
Fognini was fined £16,000 for abusing official Wayne McEwen, damaging the court and making an obscene gesture during his victory over Alex Kuznetsov.
"It can be difficult to play on these courts. I would want to play on a better court, for sure," said the 27-year-old Fognini.
"On a better court you can have challenges and review points when you don't agree with the decision or the chair."
Spain's 19th seed Feliciano Lopez reached round three with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 defeat of Croatia's Ante Pavic and will play America's ninth seed John Isner next.
Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, the world number 42, beat Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0 and will play sixth seed Cilic in round four after the 26th seed beat Czech Berdych 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
- Published27 June 2014
- Published27 June 2014
- Published27 June 2014
- Published26 June 2014
- Published26 June 2014
- Published25 June 2014
- Published22 June 2014
- Published9 November 2016
- Published17 June 2019