World No.1 Novak Djokovic cruised past South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the second round at Wimbledon yesterday.
In a repeat of the 2018 grass Grand Slam final, Djokovic beat the 35-year-old Anderson, currently ranked 102nd in the world after battling with injury over the last couple of years, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
The two ran neck and neck in the first set after a double fault followed by an unforced forehand error saw Djokovic break Anderson’s serve in the eighth game of the first set to take a 5-3 lead.
The Serb then held serve.
The second set continued in the same vein, with Anderson making a total of nine unforced errors to zero before Djokovic again broke serve in Anderson’s fourth service game and got a double break to win 6-3.
The big-serving South African ultimately proved to be no match for the Djoker, going down in the third set with the same scoreline.
While outplayed, Anderson will also be going back to the drawing board after missing three first serves in his fourth service game to trail 0-40. He got back to 30-40, but Djokovic then hit a superb forehand winner, after which, the Serb served out the match to advance to the third round.
Of his win, Djokovic says: “Kevin is a terrific player, very dangerous on fast courts and grass courts…
“I believe in myself, but it was an almost flawless performance today.”