Djokovic advances, Jabeur overcomes sickness to beat Muguruza, meets Swiatek in last 16

World number one Novak Djokovic clinched his 75th win at Wimbledon on Friday as Ons Jabeur overcame vomiting on match point to become the first Tunisian woman to reach the second week at the All England Club.

Defending champion Djokovic survived a nervy third set to defeat 114th-ranked American qualifier Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) to book a place in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the 55th time.

Djokovic, chasing a record-equalling 20th major, cruised through the first two sets but then had to fight back from 1-4 down and also 1/4 in the tiebreaker on Court One.

“It’s the trademark of every pro athlete that you never give up,” said Djokovic who is halfway to becoming only the third man in history — and first since Rod Laver in 1969 — to complete the calendar Slam.

“I am always trying to give my maximum out there especially when playing one of the biggest tournaments.”

Next up for Djokovic is Chilean 17th seed Christian Garin who defeated Spain’s Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

World number 24 Ons Jabeur defeated 2017 champion Garbine Muguruza 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 on the back of 44 winners and generating 29 break points.

Muguruza saved 24 of them but was still unable to break the spirit of Arab trailblazer Jabeur who came through despite throwing up at the Royal Box end on Centre Court as she served for the match.

“I’m actually having a problem with my stomach. I have inflammation,” said Jabeur.

“It has been going on for a while. It bothers me probably with the stress.”

Jabeur next takes on Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the seventh seed, who was the first player into the last 16 with a 55-minute 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.

Swiatek, the 2018 junior champion, had only won one match on grass on the main tour prior to Wimbledon.

“It’s hard to compare my previous years on grass, because in 2019 I was physically weaker,” said Swiatek.

“I didn’t actually have an idea on how to play on grass. This time it’s much, much better, so I just developed overall.”

In a wide open women’s draw, Swiatek is just one of three top 10 seeds still standing along with top-ranked Ashleigh Barty, who plays the third round on Saturday, and second seeded Aryna Sabalenka.

Sabalenka made the last 16 for the first time by beating Colombian qualifier Maria Camila Osorio Serrano 6-0, 6-3.

Sabalenka next faces fellow big-hitter Elena Rybakina, the 18th-seeded Kazakh who saw off Shelby Rogers 6-1, 6-4. Former world number one Karolina Pliskova made the last 16 for the third time with a 6-3, 6-3 win over fellow Czech Tereza Martincova. Pliskova will meet Russian wildcard Liudmila Samsonova who defeated former US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Samsonova, who won the Berlin title after coming through qualifying on the eve of Wimbledon, fired 33 winners to Stephens’s eight. The Russian has now won 10 successive matches on grass.

Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev booked a last-16 spot for the first time by seeing off mercurial Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Sania-Bopanna enter second round of mixed doubles: India’s Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza on Friday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles competition at Wimbledon here after beating compatriots Ramkumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina in an all-Indian match. It was the first time that two Indian pairs were facing each other at a Grand Slam.

Experienced duo Sania and Rohan beat Ankita and Ramanathan 6-2, 7-6(5) in just over an hour on Court 8. Sania, 34, and Bopanna, 41, were always in control in the first set but faced some resistance in the second. They won 74% points on first serve as compared to 68% by their opponents, who also committed a double fault.  Ramanathan and Ankita, who stormed to a 4-1 lead in the second set before their opponents reeled them in to take the issue to a tiebreaker, had three break points in the second set, but could convert only one.

Venus Williams and Nick Kyrgios produced quite the crowd pleaser in their first mixed doubles match together at Wimbledon.

There were long rallies, spectacular winners, on-court banter and one expletive-laden tirade from Kyrgios toward the chair umpire on No. 2 Court.

And in the end, a hard-earned win over Austin Krajicek and Sabrina Santamaria, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

Kyrgios argued loudly with the umpire after the glamour duo went down an early break in the third set, apparently unhappy about an earlier late call from a line judge. But they quickly broke back and saved two break points at 5-5 - the second when the 41-year-old Williams hit a lob over Krajicek.

They clinched the win when Santamaria hit a lunging forehand long.

Agencies