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.
There were flashes of brilliance, outlasting Djokovic in drumming rallies or procuring a winner at full stretch, but it was never more than that and few would have fared much better. This was Djokovic at his peak and in his pomp, leathering groundstrokes into the corners with barely a huff and reeling off sumptuous drop volleys as though playing an exhibition. The 35-year-old is vying for his fourth consecutive title in SW19 and there are few reasonable threats to that record. The Dutch qualifier, Tim van Rijthoven, awaits in the fourth round after a fairytale run on his Wimbledon debut and Djokovic will only be too happy to reprise his role as the villain.
There was nothing but admiration here, though, as Djokovic made the sort of blistering start that squashed any notion of a shock. Playing on Centre Court for the first time, Kecmanovic handed over the opening break in a torrid service game featuring three unforced errors and a double fault. By the time he did manage to settle, the first set had already been surrendered to love with less than half an hour played.
Kecmanovic managed to take a set off Djokovic when the pair met on clay at the Serbian Open earlier this year. That was a version of Djokovic still struggling for form post-Australia, though, and that Kecmanovic was able to make the second set a closer contest felt like a victory in itself. A stunning forehand winner drew a nod of approval from Djokovic and Kecmanovic showed plenty of heart and desire to save two break points in a gruelling nine-minute game at 3-2. The break always felt like a matter of inevitability though and even Kecmanovic’s best efforts couldn’t put a lasting dent in Djokovic’s immense defence. A sublime lob sealed the set and Kecmanovic was already trudging back to his chair, head bowed knowingly, before the ball bounced inside the baseline.
The final set followed a similar theme but Kecmanovic, to his credit, put up a fight until the bitter end. After being broken twice, he took advantage as Djokovic’s first-serve dropped off as the finish line came into sight and three unforced errors handed back one of the breaks tamely. There was little worth reading into that though. This was an emphatic victory and one that assured it will require an extraordinary display to prise the trophy out of Djokovic’s hands.
