Wimbledon 2017: Novak Djokovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova win; Ernests Gulbis ousts Juan Martin del Potro

Wimbledon 2017: Novak Djokovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova win; Ernests Gulbis ousts Juan Martin del Potro

Three-time champion Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon third round for the ninth successive year with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 win over Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic on Thursday.

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Wimbledon 2017: Novak Djokovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova win; Ernests Gulbis ousts Juan Martin del Potro

London: Three-time champion Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon third round for the ninth successive year with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 win over Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic on Thursday.

Second seed Djokovic will face unseeded Ernests Gulbis on Saturday for a place in the last-16.

Novak Djokovic celebrates winning against Adam Pavlasek in the second round. AP

“It was the first match this year on Court One. It plays a little bit different from Centre Court, with all the construction,” Djokovic said after the second round encounter.

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“It was a very warm day, it wasn’t easy to play point after point and some long rallies. In the second set, we had long games.

“But overall, from the very beginning I managed to impose my own rhythm and play the game I intended to play.

“I feel better as the days go by in Wimbledon. I have been in this particular situation before many times and I will try to use the experience, knowing what to do on a daily basis, to get myself in the right shape, right state of mind and hopefully the right performance.”

World number 136 Pavlasek was hoping to upset his childhood idol and record his best Grand Slam result by reaching the third round.

“I didn’t know much about him. I tried to get as much information as I could in the last 48 hours. It was a big occasion for him,” said Djokovic, 30.

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“I’m sure he can play better than he did today but from my side it was all working well.”

Djokovic recorded his 234th Grand Slam match win in the opening round, taking sole occupancy of second place on the all-time list for most match wins at the four majors ahead of Jimmy Connors on 233.

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In Tuesday’s first round match, his opponent Martin Klizan pulled out after 40 minutes on Centre Court due to a calf problem.

Dimitrov, the 13th-seeded player from Bulgaria, beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, while Ferrer advanced when opponent Steve Darcis retired with an injury while trailing 3-0.

Darcis is the eighth man to retire during a match this week. The Belgian took a medical timeout after 18 minutes of play and was unable to continue.

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Two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded seventh, advanced to the third round along with 24th-seeded CoCo Vandeweghe.

Seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova made her way past compatriot Ekaterina Makarova 6-0, 7-5 while American Vandeweghe beat Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-2.

Gulbis defeated 29th seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(3) and will next face three-time champion Djokovic in the third round.

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Gulbis reached the fourth round at the French Open in 2016, but didn’t win another tour-level match until Tuesday in the first round at the All England Club.

The only other time he reached the third round at Wimbledon was in 2013. He reached the semi-finals at the French Open in 2014.

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Against Del Potro, Gulbis had 25 aces and was only broken once. He had twice as many winners as his opponent, outnumbering Del Potro 60-30.

With inputs from agencies

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