Djokovic impressed with next opponent Van Rijthoven: ‘He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the tension’ | sport

Djokovic took just under two hours against his young compatriot. The first set ended after 25 minutes, after which it took him twice 45 minutes to face Kecmanovic. ,,I started with good focus and intensity. I’m playing better and better as the tournament progresses and you hope to play better every game. So far so good,” Djokovic said afterwards.

Djokovic has also anticipated his next opponent at Wimbledon: Tim van Rijthoven. ,,I saw him play, he doesn’t seem to suffer from tension at all.”

Djokovic called the Dutchman ‘one of the talking points of the tournament’. He had seen him play several times over the past few weeks, he said. ,,The grass suits him well. He has a good serve, slice, volley and one-handed backhand. He clearly plays with a lot of confidence. In the Rosmalen final, he beat Daniil Medvedev quite convincingly. He doesn’t seem to have any nerves, neither in this final nor in his Grand Slam debut. He is working on a very impressive dream series.

The six-time Wimbledon champion has known Van Rijthoven’s coach Igor Sijsling for a long time. ,,His mother is from Serbia, and we are from the same generation. I spoke to Igor for a while this week. I don’t know Tim very well of course, but I will do my homework and do all the necessary analysis to be ready. He obviously has nothing to lose and will be happy to play on Center Court or Court 1. We’ve all been in that position at some point, of course.”

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic is aiming for his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title. He last lost in the summer of 2017, when he had to retire in the quarter-finals against Czech Tomas Berdych with an elbow injury.

Djokovic dropped a set in the first round against Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea last Monday but was also too strong for Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia in three sets on Wednesday. On Sunday (for the first time at Wimbledon this year), Djokovic awaits his fourth-round/eighth-final match against Tim van Rijthoven. In the quarter-finals, Carlos Alcaraz is a possible opponent for the winner.

Djokovic has won 20 Grand Slams, as has Roger Federer. The Serb has already been the best on the lawn in south London six times: in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Rafael Nadal, probably the opponent of Botic van de Zandschulp in the fourth round, is the record holder in men with 22 victories overall.

Djokovic and Nadal have won 14 of the last 16 Grand Slam tournaments. The hegemony of experienced Wolverines from Serbia and Spain has only been broken since 2018 by Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, winners of the last two editions of the US Open. Both players will not be present at Wimbledon.

Botic van de Zandschulp will face Richard Gasquet in the third round of Wimbledon on lane 2 on Saturday. The 21st seeded Dutchman and the Frenchman will play the second game after 12:00 Dutch time.

For the duel between Van de Zandschulp and Gasquet, the world number 69, the women’s match between the Frenchwoman Harmony Tan and the Briton Katie Boulter will be played on lane 2.

Van de Zandschulp (26) can become the second Dutchman after Tim van Rijthoven in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Van Rijthoven (25) beat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili on Friday afternoon.

Rafael Nadal, who could be Van de Zandschulp’s opponent in the fourth round, will face Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the third and final match on center court. On the century-old Wimbledon course, the first match begins at 2:30 p.m. For the first time there will also be action on middle Sunday at Wimbledon, where it was traditionally a day off for tennis players and grass.

Van de Zandschulp lost in the first round of the Wimbledon doubles tournament. Along with his American partner Mackenzie McDonald, he lost to Slovak FIlip Polasek and Australian John Peers after a 2-0 lead in sets in five sets. It was 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

For Van de Zandschulp, who will play in the third round of singles on Saturday, this was his last doubles match at a Grand Slam tournament so far. Earlier this week, he indicated that he would not compete in doubles in the future to save his strength for singles.

Spain’s fifth seed Carlos Alcaraz also made it into the fourth round in convincing fashion. Alcaraz, 19, was far too strong for Germany’s Oscar Otte, who finished 32nd with 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. The party only lasted an hour and 38 minutes.

Alcaraz, who beat Tallon Groenpoor in the previous round, had already lost in the second round at Wimbledon last year. He now faces the Italian Jannik Sinner, who eliminated John Isner in three sets: 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

In the third and final match on center court, British hopeful Cameron Norrie had little trouble with American Steve Johnson: 6-4 6-1 6-0. For ninth-seeded Norrie, this is only the first time he has passed the third round of a Grand Slam tournament.

American tennis player John Isner (2.08 meters) set a world record at Wimbledon. He hit his 13,729th ace as a professional tennis player against Jannik Sinner. With this, he surpassed the record of the 2.11-meter-long Croatian Ivo Karlovic (43 years old, professional since 2000).