Novak Djokovic’s path back to the Wimbledon final is suddenly littered with Australians after Alexei Popyrin and Alex de Minaur booked their spots in the third round overnight Thursday.
De Minaur looked in a rush to make it to girlfriend Katie Boulter’s match in a 6-2 6-2 7-5 win against Jaume Munar, before Popyrin delivered a giant upset of 30th seed Tomas Etcheverry, winning 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Popyrin, 24, has never made it past the third round of a grand slam but will get the chance to correct that against Djokovic after the seven-time champion battled past Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-3 6-4 5-7 7-5.
It could have been even better for Australia but relatively unknown Queenslander Adam Walton fell at the final hurdle in a heartbreaking 7-5 1-6 6-7 (12-14) 6-1 7-6 (10-8) loss to Francisco Comesana.
Thanasi Kokkinakis was also shattered after being forced to withdraw. He raced to a one-set lead against Lucas Pouille before his troublesome knee again played up in a 2-6 7-5 5-2 walkover. Pouille will now play de Minaur.
Djokovic’s quarter of the draw opened up slightly when 7th seed Hubert Hurkacz withdrew after also suffering a knee injury while down match point against Arthur Fils.
If Djokovic can make it past Popyrin and then navigate a likely fourth-round match against Holger Rune, the Serb could find de Minaur waiting for him in the final eight.
Djokovic ‘not comfortable in own skin’
Djokovic was made to fight by British outsider Fearnley before reaching the third round for the 18th time.
Djokovic had to save two break points midway through the fourth set before seeing off the challenge of the world number 277.
“I had never seen him play so there is always the element of surprise,” admitted Djokovic.
“He had nothing to lose and served well. I was a little lucky in the fourth set. I could have won the match in three and it could have gone to a fifth. The way he was playing, I’m glad it didn’t.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic had cruised through the first two sets on Centre Court against a player who was making his Grand Slam debut this week.
He was a break up in the third to lead 3-2 but Fearnley, who was still playing university tennis in the United States last month, retrieved the break immediately.
He then rode the momentum to claim the third set.
Fearnley forced the 24-time Grand Slam champion to save two break points in the sixth game of the fourth set.
Djokovic made the Briton pay for his failure to convert the advantage and gained a final crucial break in the 11th game before serving out the match.
“I didn’t really feel comfortable in my own skin in the third and fourth sets,” said Djokovic.
“But sometimes you have rough days when you don’t feel your best. It’s a win and I’ll take it.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas was not able to avoid the banana peel in his path, losing in four sets to Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6 7-6 3-6 6-3.
Pegula biggest female scalp to fall
Jessica Pegula became the highest-ranked player to be dumped out of Wimbledon so far on Thursday, losing 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-1 to China’s Wang Xinyu in the second round.
The American, ranked fifth in the world, battled back after losing the first set, saving a match point in the second-set tie-break, before levelling the match.
But China’s 42nd-ranked Wang raced into a 5-0 lead in the decider before wrapping up the contest to record her first win against a top-10 player.
Wang, 22, said: “Couple of days ago I was asking my coach, ‘When will this happen?’ “Jessica was really tough to play on grass. Her ball was super low and I’m just really happy I won in the end.”
Wang will face Britain’s Harriet Dart, who defeated Nottingham champion Boulter, for a spot in the last 16.
Defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova earlier this week became the first defending women’s champion to lose in the first round for 30 years.
– with AFP