Djokovic eyes sweet 16
Italy's Jannik Sinner wins a point against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic during their men's singles tennis match at 2024 Wimbledon Championships. PHOTO: AFP
Novak Djokovic will target the Wimbledon fourth round for the 16th time on Saturday as old rival Andy Murray's All England Club career ended on a low note when Emma Raducanu pulled the plug on their mixed doubles plans.
Djokovic is looking to equal Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon triumphs and claim a 25th Grand Slam title in total.
He barely broke sweat in his opening match but was pushed to four sets in his second encounter by British rookie Jacob Fearnley, who was still playing college tennis in the United States last month.
Just weeks after a right knee operation, Djokovic feels he is not yet fully up to speed.
"It's not where I want it to be," he said. "The longer I stay in the tournament, I think the better the chances that my movement will improve."
On Saturday, he tackles Alexei Popyrin, whom he beat in four sets at the Australian Open earlier this year.
With defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and top-ranked Jannik Sinner on the other side of the draw, and safely into the fourth round, Djokovic can see a clear path to a sixth straight final at the All England Club.
Popyrin, the world number 47, has never made the second week of a Slam. Meanwhile, Murray's 19-year Wimbledon career finished with a whimper when Raducanu withdrew from their mixed doubles partnership.
Former world number one Murray, who will retire after the Paris Olympics, didn't play singles after failing to recover from surgery to remove a cyst from his spine.
On Thursday, he and brother Jamie were defeated in the first round of men's doubles. Murray, the 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion, was scheduled to partner Raducanu in Saturday's last match on Court One.
"Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight," said Raducanu in a statement. Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, faces New Zealand's Lulu Sun on Sunday for a place in the women's singles quarter-finals.
Djokovic's scheduled semi-final opponent Alexander Zverev was opening play on Centre Court against Cameron Norrie, the last British man in the singles tournament.
Zverev has dropped just 15 games in two rounds and boasts a 5-0 winning record over Norrie.
France's Ugo Humbert defeated Brandon Nakashima of the United States in four sets to set-up a last-16 clash with Alcaraz.