London: Defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic breezed into the Wimbledon fourth round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Bernard Tomic of Australia on Friday.
Djokovic, also the 2011 champion, will face Kevin Anderson of South Africa for a place in the quarterfinals. Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka also powered his way to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Fernando Verdasco for his first win over the Spaniard in 10 years.
French Open champion Wawrinka will take on Belgium’s David Goffin for a place in the quarterfinals. Goffin, the 16th seed, became only the fourth Belgian man to make the fourth round in the Open Era by defeating 2006 semifinalist Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Australia’s controversial Nick Kyrgios and Frenchman Richard Gasquet set-up a Wimbledon last-16 clash after knocking out last year’s semifinalists Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov.
Kyrgios, who famously defeated Rafael Nadal in 2014 when he was ranked 144 in the world, avenged his quarterfinal loss of 12 months ago to Raonic with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 third round victory over the seventh seed.
Kyrgios faces another rematch in the fourth round against Gasquet after beating the Frenchman in a dramatic five-setter in the second round last year. Gasquet, a semifinalist in 2007 and seeded 21 this year, beat 11th seeded Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Bencic, Vandeweghe enter last 16 stage
Maria Sharapova saw off a late comeback to reach the Wimbledon fourth round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu. The fourth seed and 2004 champion won the key points in the first set and saw off some last-ditch resistance in the second to book her place in last 16.
Coco Vandeweghe, one of six American women in the third round, reached the last 16 at a Slam for the first time with a 6-2, 6-0 stroll past 2011 US Open champion Sam Stosur of Australia.
Teenager Belinda Bencic became the first Swiss woman into the fourth round since Patty Schnyder in 2007 when she defeated American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands 7-5, 7-5.
Bopanna-Mergea win, bhupathi is out
India’s Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea battled past Thomas Bellucci and Guillermo Duran in straight sets to enter the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals but it was curtains for the mixed doubles duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Alla Kudryavtseva at the Wimbledon here on Friday.
In a closely fought second round contest, the ninth seeded Indo-Romanian pair prevailed 7-5, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) against the Brazil-Argentine combination after fighting hard for two hours and 10 minutes.
However, the duo of Bhupathi and Kudryavtseva lost to American pair of Nicholas Monroe and Madison Brengle 5-7, 3-6, 2-6 in a match that lasted one hour, 40 minutes on court number seven.
Earlier in the day, saving six of the seven breakpoints proved crucial for Bopanna and Mergea. They broke their rivals twice in each of the first two sets, out of all total five chances that they earned.
Results:
Men’s 3rd round
Kevin Anderson (RSA x14) bt Leonardo Mayer (ARG x24) 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3; Stan Wawrinka (SUI x4) bt Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; David Goffin (BEL x16) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; Richard Gasquet (FRA x21) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x11) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; Nick Kyrgios (AUS x26) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3
Women’s 3rd round
Belinda Bencic (SUI x30) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 7-5, 7-5; Coco Vandeweghe (USA) bt Samantha Stosur (AUS x22) 6-2, 6-0; Maria Sharapova (RUS x4) bt Andrea Petkovic (GER) 6-4, 6-3
