London, July 4: Novak Djokovic of Serbia stayed on course for his seventh Wimbledon crown as he sailed into quarterfinal beating Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven in four-setter.
Djokovic registered 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Rijthoven on Sunday to set up a quarterfinal against Italian youngster Jannik Sinner. This was Serb’s 25th consecutive grass court win.
“I knew coming into the match that it was always going to be a tough, challenging matchup against Tim, who I’ve never faced before,” Djokovic said in a post-match presser.
“I watched him play. He’s got a really good game for grass, which he proved today. It was a very good fight, especially in the first two sets.
“But overall I think I’ve played very well, very solid from back of the court. I got into his service rhythm, started reading his serve better in the third and fourth sets.”
Djokovic’s 25 straight grass wins — all of which have come at Wimbledon, where he is a three-time defending champion — are second of all-time. He broke a tie with Rod Laver with Sunday’s result, but still trailing Roger Federer’s 65 consecutive grass victories, achieved from 2003-08.
He will seek to extend his win streak on Tuesday against 10th seed Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinal.
