LONDON – Novak Djokovic says he wouldn’t have been surprised if his second-round match against youngster Jacob Fearnley at Wimbledon went to a fifth set, but he is “very happy it didn’t happen”.
The seven-time All England Club champion beat his 22-year-old Scottish opponent 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 on Center Court on Thursday in another test your aptitude after recent knee surgery.
“Can I play better and move better? Yes, for sure,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview. “So hopefully as the tournament goes on, each day or each match, I feel a little bit better.”
Fearnley, a wild card who recently finished playing college tennis at TCU, had a loud crowd that erupted when he won the third set.
“He served very well, it was very difficult to break the serve. He made me work, for sure,” said Djokovic, who will face Alexei Popyrin in the third round.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion said he should have closed the match in straight sets, but that “I wasn’t very comfortable with myself, especially in the third and fourth.
“Sometimes you have tough days where maybe you’re not feeling well,” he added, “and of course it also depends on the opponent at the net. He made me achieve this victory.”
Was a great day for Great Britain on and off the court – with the UK holding a national election and several local residents featured.
“It’s a big day for British tennis and there’s no better place to do it than at home at Wimbledon,” said Fearnley. “Yeah, it’s an unbelievable tournament, an unbelievable crowd.”
It got off to a rocky start as wildcard entry Yuriko Lily Miyazaki collected just 19 points on the way to a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Daria Kasatkina.
Miyazaki, 28, made 31 unforced errors and five double faults as he fell to number 14 Kasatkina, a Russian who won the Eastbourne title before the Grand Slam on grass court.
Harriet Dart came back to defeat compatriot Katie Boulter, ranked 32nd and Britain’s highest-ranked women’s singles player, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8). Dart trailed 6-2 in the deciding tiebreaker. Boulter compiled 75 unforced errors and 39 winners.
Later on Center Court, Andy Murray was scheduled to play doubles with his brother, Jamie. The two-time Wimbledon champion withdrew from the singles competition.
Top seed Iga Swiatek extended her winning streak to 21 matches with her 6-4, 6-3 victory over Petra Martic.
No. 5 Jessica Pegula became the highest-ranked women’s player to lose. The American was defeated by Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-1. For Wang, it was his first win over a top 10 player.
Two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka was seeded third at Wimbledon before bowing out before the first round with a shoulder injury.
Kasatkina will next face Paula Badosa, who advanced Thursday by defeating Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-2.
Ons Jabeur, the 10th seed who reached the last two Wimbledon finals, eliminated 19-year-old American Robin Montgomery 6-1, 7-5.
But some other Americans stepped forward on Independence Day.
No. 11 Danielle Collins beat Dalma Galfi 6-3, 6-4, No. 12 Madison Keys beat Wang Yafan 6-2, 6-2, and Bernarda Pera came back to beat No. 23 Caroline Garcia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“I always loved playing during the Fourth of July. I think I spent more Fourth of July in London than anywhere else in the world,” said Keys, 29. “It’s always fun and it’s definitely an experience. Like today, walking past me, I saw a group of Americans and they all said, ‘Happy Four.’”
Number 14 Ben Shelton outlasted Lloyd Harris of South Africa 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (10-7). Arthur Fils also advanced to the third round when number 7 Hubert Hurkacz retired in the fourth set due to a leg injury. They were in the fourth set tiebreaker after Fils won the first two sets and Hurkacz won the third.
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