Novak Djokovic continues to dominate on Centre Court as he keeps Wimbledon title defence on track

Top seed Novak Djokovic raised his level to put an end to the fairytale run of Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven during a battling 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory on Sunday (July 3) and keep his Wimbledon title defence on track.

Chasing a fourth straight Wimbledon crown and seventh overall at the grasscourt major, Djokovic is now unbeaten on the manicured lawns of the All England Club since retiring due to an elbow injury against Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals.

Djokovic will play Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner for a place in Friday’s semi-finals after the 20-year-old ousted fifth-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the previous contest on Centre Court.

The Serb broke his opponent’s serve twice in the opening set while saving three break points to take a one-set lead.

Van Rijthoven, the clear underdog against the 20-time major winner, brought the crowd under the Centre Court lights to their feet when he broke the 20-time major winner’s serve in the second set to level the contest.

But Djokovic showed why he has won 25 consecutive matches on grass, taking his level up a few notches in the third set to break twice and shut down the momentum the Dutchman had gained.

The 35-year-old got a break early in the fourth and let out roars of “come on” with his fists clenched, while a second break in the seventh game put the top seed firmly in control.

Djokovic then converted his first match point with a forehand winner — his 28th of the evening — to keep his title defence rolling on the grass.

Ons Jabeur’s hopes of becoming the first African to lift the Rosewater Dish gathered momentum as she edged out Belgian Elise Mertens 7-6(9) 6-4 in a topsy-turvy encounter to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second year running.

The second-ranked Tunisian, the only seed left in the bottom half of the women’s draw, has been the form player over the opening week of the grasscourt championships as she reached the last eight without dropping a set.

Mertens, however, was no pushover during the contest as she earned five set points during a marathon first-set tiebreak.

But once Jabeur produced the firepower to wriggle out of trouble, she raised her game in the second set and wrapped up the win when Mertens surrendered with a double fault.

The 27-year-old will next meet 66th-ranked Czech challenger Marie Bouzkova as the Tunisian targets a place in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.