Relieved Djokovic advances into Wimbledon quarter-finals

Serb survives tough battle against Baghdatis in a pulsating encounter.

LONDON:

Second-seed Novak Djokovic survived a scare at the Wimbledon Championships,  winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a thrilling four-set battle with 32nd-seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.

The Serb, who next faces France’s Michael Llodra in the last-16, was relieved to have emerged victorious from a testing encounter.

“To pull a win out of this game was great,” he said. “It wasn’t my day totally but when I needed to I played some good shots.

“Baghdatis plays great on grass, his game is suited to quick surfaces and he has played very well here over the years. I wasn’t playing on the top of my level today but you have to take positives. I’m into the fourth round, I beat a very good player and now I’ll get ready for next week.”

Djokovic was given a warning after smashing a racquet in frustration during the pulsating Centre Court encounter which had everything from temper tantrums to jaw-dropping rallies, as the beaten 2006 semi-finalist made the world number two sweat for victory.

Tomic shocks Soderling

However, the shock of the day saw Australian teenager Bernard Tomic upsetting fifth-seed Robin Soderling, who was bundled out 6-1, 6-4, 7-5.

Tomic, who recently replaced Lleyton Hewitt as Australia’s number one and now faces Xavier Malisse in the last-16, described his run at Wimbledon as the highlight primitive of his career so far.

“Probably the best achievement that I’ve done so far,” he said. “I’ll always remember this is the first time I’ve really done well at a Grand Slam.

“I’m in the fourth round now. I’d love to win another round. I think I can win. I’ve got to go out there and believe like I did in this game.”

Another seeded casualty was France’s Gael Monfils. The ninth seed tumbled out 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot.

Schiavone crashes out

Meanwhile, in the women’s matches unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek upset the odds as she beat former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-4, 11-9.

Paszek looked on the way out when Schiavone served for the match at 9-8 in the final set, but the world number 80 dug deep to break back and minutes later fell to her knees in triumph after clinching the biggest win of her life.

Lisicki sails through

Germany’s highly-tipped Sabine Lisicki also progressed with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Japanese qualifier Misaki Doi. Wildcard Lisicki, who knocked out French Open winner Li Na in round two, was too good for Doi to handle, who has impressed on her debut at the All England Club.

Lisicki faces Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic for a place in the quarter-finals of the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2011.