Novak Djokovic produced another masterclass at Wimbledon on Thursday, dismantling home favourite Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in a clinical second-round showing that reinforced his ongoing desire for history.
The seven-time title holder dispatched the match in a mere hour and 47 minutes to advance into the third round, claiming his 99th All England Club career victory.
Back to meet Evans for the first time since suffering a rare defeat at the hands of the Brit last year at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters, Djokovic gave him no chance to repeat. At 38, the Serbian great was almost perfect with his serve, giving only nine points throughout the match and masterfully nullifying Evans' slice-heavy approach.
Djokovic dominated with an unprecedented 46 victories against Evans' 19, setting the pace throughout and keeping the British fans quiet through never letting the 34-year-old opponent establish rhythm.
"I think everyone knew that it was going to be a special atmosphere today on the court," Djokovic explained after the match. "Obviously, a Brit in Britain is never easy to face.". He's a quality player who has got a lot of ability, a lot of touch. For the grass, where the ball remains very low with his slice, he can give you a lot of trouble if you are not on your best game, which I am sure I was, to be frank, right from the start.
His one-sided victory also recorded Djokovic achieving another Open Era record, moving ahead of Roger Federer for the most men's singles third-round participations at Wimbledon, now with 19 to his credit.
"It means that I've been playing quite a long time. Nineteen times — that's a nice stat," he joked. "It's possibly nearly as much as Sinner and Alcaraz have as years in their life, but I still love it. Wimbledon is still the most special tournament to my heart, the one that I always hoped to win when I was growing up, so any history created here is clearly extra special for me."
Then Djokovic will face fellow countryman Miomir Kecmanovic, who previously fought past Jesper de Jong in four sets. A victory in that all-Serbian third-round match would be Djokovic's 100th Wimbledon career win—a milestone only a handful of players in tennis history have reached.
"I was training well for the match, technically and tactically. I knew what I had to do, and I did it flawlessly," Djokovic said after the victory. "Sometimes you get those types of days where everything is going your way and everything is flowing. It's nice to be in the shoes and grasping a racquet on a day like today, no doubt about it."
With fitness, form, and firepower all on showcase, Djokovic has once again made it clear: he's anything but done and hungrier than ever for additional Wimbledon success.
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