The world No 1 extends his unbeaten run to 17 matches at the Championships and he will now face the 17th seed Cristian Garin in the fourth round; ninth seed Diego Schwartzman beaten in third round, while Andrey Rublev progresses
Friday 2 July 2021 22:11, UK
Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a third consecutive Wimbledon title with a straight-sets 6-4 6-3 7-6 (9-7) victory over qualifier Denis Kudla.
Out on No 1 Court, with Dan Evans and Andy Murray taking the lead on Centre Court, the world No 1 extended his record at Wimbledon to 75-10 and moved into the fourth round for a 55th time at a grand slam.
The 34-year-old had described his second-round victory over Kevin Anderson as "flawless", but he didn't hit those heights against American Kudla, who is ranked 114 in the world.
Instead there was plenty of irritation, with double-faults, a couple of service breaks and a third-set tie-break.
The world No 1's unforced error-count was also up significantly on the six he registered against Anderson - this time he made 28 - however, throughout, Djokovic attacked the match with his trademark energy and vigour.
"You always try to do your best and give your maximum out there, particularly when you're playing in one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world," the world No 1 said on court after.
"Well, for me it is the biggest, because I always dreamt about winning Wimbledon when I was a kid.
"I have to give credit to Denis for playing really well from the beginning, the third set was pretty close. He's a great guy on and off the court, we get on really well and I wish him all the best."
Kudla stayed with the Serbian for the first nine games, before Djokovic struck in the 10th to sneak the first set.
He won four games in a row across the end of the first and the start of the second, and although Kudla managed to break back, Djokovic quickly regained his advantage.
At that point, the American qualifier began feeding off the crowd inside No 1 Court. He gave them a glimmer of a comeback too, when he was handed a break after Djokovic double-faulted, and Kudla moved 3-0 up in the third.
Kudla's unforced error count increased at the wrong time, though. Leading at 4-2, he faltered and Djokovic seized his chance to pull back level and take proceedings into a tie-break.
Back-to-back double faults from Djokovic gifted Kudla a 3-0 lead in the tie-break, but some resolute Djokovic defence, and some poor shot choices from Kudla, saw the reigning champion make it over the line.
Once victory belonged to him, Djokovic expanded further on where his drive and will to win comes from.
"I think that part of it comes from my genes," he said. "My family and the way that I grew up during difficult times for my country in the 90s.
"Failure was never an option for me, or for anyone in my family. We just had to find a way to get the basic needs to survive during those times. It was difficult and I think that has strengthened my character, I would say.
"Part of it also comes from my upbringing in the mountains, I spend a lot of times with wolves, so this is wolf-energy right here!"
Elsewhere in the draw, Marton Fucsovics knocked out ninth seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-4.
In a match lasting three hours and 19 minutes, it was the Hungarian who outlasted his opponent to continue his best-ever run at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
Fucsovics made 47 unforced errors but also hit 40 winners to set up a last-16 meeting with Andrey Rublev in what will be the fifth match between the pair during the last 12 months. Rublev progressed thanks to a 6-3 5-7 6-4 6-2 victory over Fabio Fognini.
American debutant Sebastian Korda continued his impressive run with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over British number one Dan Evans, who had been looking to reach for fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time in his career.
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