They say familiarity breeds contempt and there was certainly no mercy shown as Novak Djokovic thrashed his friend and fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic to reach the Wimbledon fourth round. Thirteen years separate the pair born in Belgrade but it is hard to envisage even a distant future where the defending champion is overthrown by his heir-apparent. Djokovic had already appeared ominously close to his best in a ruthless second-round victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, but this was a mesmerising performance that bounded close to the realms of perfection, taking the first set to love and completing a 6-0 6-3 6-4 victory in under two hours.
If some quiet murmurs of doubt have remained since the Australian Open furore, there can be no disputing Djokovic’s status as a resounding favourite now. Hero worship might have hampered Kecmanovic’s talents, but he was still the No 25 seed and proved his grand slam credentials by reaching the fourth round in Melbourne. That was of no consolation here though as a crowd deprived of a contest did their best to offer encouragement, launching into wild applause after Kecmanovic finally ended a streak of seven games lost in succession.
