Novak Djokovic swatted aside the challenge of brave Brit Dan Evans, to keep alive his dream of winning a 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic rolled back the clock with some vintage tennis in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 straight sets win on Centre Court, booking his place in the Wimbledon third round.
Djokovic won four straight tiles here between 2018 and 2023, and admitted before the tournament this was his best chance adding another Grand Slam title to his remarkable haul.
But he found himself up against a spirited opponent in the shape of Evans, who provided some stubborn resistance in the opening exchanges.
Having lost in the first round in his past three Wimbledon appearances, Evans bucked the trend by cruising into the second round by beating fellow Briton Jay Clarke 6-1 7-5 6-2.
He had also pulled off some shock wins on grass this season, defeating top 15 stars Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe at Queen’s and Eastbourne.
Beating Djokovic on Centre Court, though, represented a different challenge altogether.
Not least because the Englishman is now 35, and doesn’t know how many more chances he will get to perform on the most hallowed grass in tennis.
Djokovic started the match with an ace, and won the opening game inside 60 seconds. Yet Evans refused to be broken, quite literally. He saved four break points in the fourth game, and when his opponent had three more break points in the sixth game, he saved them as well.
Evans seemed determined to make the most of his date with tennis royalty.
Two more break points were saved in eighth game, but just as Djokovic’s patience was starting to wear thin, he broke Evans at the 10th time of asking, before going on win the first set 6-3.
Djokovic has never lost a Grand Slam match to a player ranked as low as world No.154 Evans. And it didn’t look like happening here, because the gulf in talent was obvious.
Djokovic wasn’t going to put up with a repeat of the first set, and broke Evans early in the second to take a 2-1 lead en-route to winning it 6-2.
Having put up so much fight in the opening set, Evans was on the brink of surrender. He resembled a popped balloon.
And sensing blood, seven-time champion Djokovic powered through to victory with a masterclass of serving and groundstrokes, which left Evans shaking his head at times.
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