LONDON: Novak Djokovic thanked the Centre Crowd after his second-round win over Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday. “Thanks for supporting both players,” he said, driving home a point not for the first time in these championships.
A little after his 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win, a fan shouted, ‘I love you, Novak’. The six-time champion, in the midst of his on-court interview, was quick to respond, ‘I love you too’.
The 35-year-old, who refused to let the Kokkinakis serve call the shots, drilling returns deep into the court, had 29 winners on the day. The Serb, who has become the focal point of the popularity debate which questions fan behaviour across the tennis world, has also been saying his piece.
Djokovic was cheered on by Boris Becker’s girlfriend Lillian De Carvalho and son Noah for the second time in the week. The Serb’s former coach is serving a prison sentence in the UK and the defending champion has shown top form in reaching out.
The 35-year-old is looking at the likelihood that after Wimbledon, his next Grand Slam tournament may well be 11 months away. As things stand, his participation in the US Open and again Down Under, from where he was deported in January, doesn’t look like a possibility.
Djokovic, who still harbours hope of playing the US Open, to begin with, broke Kokkinakis five times, extending his winning streak at SW19 to 23 matches. The 35-year-old, however, is clear that he won’t take the vaccine and if that means sitting out of tournaments, he’s willing to do it.
“I’m very happy with my performance today,” said Djokovic. “I thought I started off well, solid from the back of the court, made him work for every point that I managed to get his serve back in play.”
Djokovic, looking for a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, will go up against countryman Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round on Friday.
In other matches, the second seed in the women’s draw, Anett Kontaveit, who has been suffering from Covid-19 after-effects these last two months, went down to Jule Niemeier, the 97th ranked German, 4-6, 0-6 in just under an hour.
Former champion Garbine Muguruza, seeded nine, bowed out 4-6, 0-6 to Belgium’s Greet Minnen. Briton Emma Raducanu, the tenth seed, went down 3-6, 3-6 to France’s Caroline Garcia.
French Open runner-up Casper Ruud, seeded three, fell to the left-handed Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-3, 2-6 5-7, 4-6 in two hours and 36 minutes.
