Novak Djokovic grinds out win; Hurkacz exits with knee injury

Novak Djokovic stated he would not have been shocked if his second-round match towards Jacob Fearnley at Wimbledon went to a fifth set, however he is “very glad it did not.”

The seven-time champion on the All England Membership beat his 22-year-old Scottish opponent 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 on Centre Court docket on Thursday in one other check of his health following latest knee surgical procedure.

“Can I be taking part in higher and shifting higher? Sure, completely,” Djokovic stated in an on-court interview. “So I am hoping that because the event progresses every day or every match I will be feeling a bit higher.”

Fearnley, a wild-card entry who lately completed taking part in faculty tennis at TCU, had a powerful cheering part that erupted when he took the third set.

“He served very effectively. It was very troublesome to interrupt his serve. He made me work, positively,” Djokovic stated.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion stated he ought to have closed it out in straight units however that he “was not likely comfy in my very own pores and skin, significantly within the third and fourth.”

“Typically you’ve gotten tough days the place possibly you aren’t feeling your finest,” he added, “and naturally it additionally is determined by the opponent throughout the web. He made me earn this victory.”

Whereas Djokovic may look ahead to a third-round showdown with Australian Alexei Popyrin, Fearnley gave himself a pat on the again.

“I used to be taking part in the best tennis participant of all time on Centre Court docket, Wimbledon, so it’s extremely troublesome to be too dissatisfied,” Fearnley stated. “I used to be tremendous grateful to have the chance to play on that courtroom towards that opponent. Proud is how I am feeling proper now.”

No. 7 seed Hubert Hurkacz grew to become the third top-eight males’s participant to make an early exit as he retired from his second-round conflict towards Arthur Fils with a knee damage.

Having made a sluggish begin, Hurkacz was on the right track to stage the match at two units apiece when he dived for a volley on the web within the fourth set tiebreak to go 8-7 up. Hurkacz landed badly and stayed on the turf to obtain therapy on his proper knee.

Hurkacz limped on after a prolonged medical timeout earlier than producing one other determined dive shortly after, however his motion was severely hampered. He threw within the towel at 7-6 (2), 6-4, 2-6, 6-6 having gone down 9-8 within the tiebreak.

“It is very robust to win a match like this towards a buddy,” Fils stated in his on-court interview. “We have been taking part in tremendous good within the fourth set. We had some nice factors, and he was leaping all over the place. I am actually sorry for him, and I hope he’ll get better in a short time.

“Me, I am targeted on the following spherical.”

Hurkacz confirmed flashes of his finest type after a lackluster effort within the first two units earlier than becoming a member of sixth seed Andrey Rublev and eighth seed Casper Ruud in making an early exit.

Fils grew to become the youngest Frenchman to achieve the Wimbledon third spherical since 2005, when each Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils did in order youngsters. He subsequent faces Russian Roman Safiullin in his tenth tour-level match on grass.

“It is solely my second yr on grass. OK, I am taking part in higher than final yr, however I nonetheless have a lot to enhance,” Fils stated.

Fils’ 37-year-old compatriot Monfils joined him in advancing after beating three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3) in a match that started Wednesday.

“It was a veteran battle. That is why we nonetheless love the sport. We’re simply good mates,” Monfils stated. “Stan is somebody I look as much as. It is all the time a privilege to play him. In the present day I gained, however I do know the following one it might be him.

No. 9 Alex de Minaur secured a complete 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 win over Jaume Munar, No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov got here again from two units right down to defeat China’s Shang Juncheng 5-7, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, and American 14th seed Ben Shelton and No. 15 Holger Rune each rallied from a set right down to advance.

American and No. 13 Taylor Fritz moved previous Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to arrange a third-round conflict with Alejandro Tabilo, who battled previous Flavio Cobolli in 5 units.

The Related Press and Reuters contributed to this report.