Novak Djokovic treated Centre Court to a clinic in aerial acrobatics and devastating ball-striking to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over Miomir Kecmanovic on Saturday.

The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion continued his pursuit of No 25 as he beat his Serbian compatriot 6-3 6-0 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes to tee up a clash with Alex de Minaur after the Australian’s 6-4 7-6 6-3 victory over August Holmgren.

Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, is seeking to reach the final for the fifth successive year, having finished runner-up over back-to-back years following defeats to Carlos Alcaraz.

While the tennis landscape adjusts to a new era of dominance set to be spearheaded by Alcaraz and world No 1 Jannik Sinner, Djokovic issued a reminder of the predatory exploits that continue to make him a threat on grass at the age of 38 years old.

The win marked Djokovic’s 100th at Wimbledon, putting him in an exclusive club alongside Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer.

“It’s very historic, it sounds very nice. I’m very grateful and privileged to be in this position,” said Djokovic on court.

“Tennis has given me incredible things in life that I can experience, so I try not to take anything for granted, particularly at this age still going strong and competing with these young players – doing some slides and pushing myself to the limit!

“Wimbledon is a favourite and dream tournament, not just for myself, but the majority of tennis players.

“Growing up, most kids dream of playing and winning here. I’ve been blessed to do it many times. Any history I make at my favourite tournament, I’m blessed.”

Djokovic joked this week about the prospect of sipping margaritas on a beach with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal while reflecting on their historic rivalry. This wasn’t performance indicative of a man ready to sit on the beach just yet.

To his credit Kecmanovic was able to hang with his rival until late in the first set when he was undone by one of the points of the tournament.

The pair would find themselves embroiled in a tense exchange of volleys at the net, with Djokovic sending Kecmanovic scrambling to the back of the court with a lab, only to see his counterpart keep the ball in play. Djokovic, unable to convert the ensuing smash, would meet Kecmanovic at the net once more, redirecting a stunning backhand volley while diving horizontally to his left to bring the Centre Court crowd to its feet. Not so very 38-year-old of him.

It made it 5-3 in favour of the Wimbledon favourite, who then sealed the set with an ace.

He raised the tempo and the intensity again in the second as a ruthless backhand winner down the line bought him a double break and a 3-0 lead on his way to a bagel, across which he won 91 per cent of first-serve points as well as all six net points on offer to him.

Kecmanovic continued to fight without really doing a whole lot wrong in the face of a rampant Djokovic, whose stunning reflex backhand return brushed off the line to set up an advantage and his eventual break for 4-1 in the third set.

Then came a late but minor scare, Kecmanovic converting his first break point of the match to close the gap to 5-3, before holding to love to supply some late pressure.

A rare double fault from Djokovic then made for some tense moments as Kecmanovic led 30-15 against the serve, only for Djokovic to respond with an ace for match point.

The deal was done when Djokovic served out to quash any lingering nerves around Centre Court.

Swiatek advances but defending champ Krejcikova exits

Iga Swiatek continued her march as the eighth seed dispatched Danielle Collins convincingly, while defending women’s singles champion Barbora Krejcikova was beaten by Emma Navarro.

Eighth seed Swiatek continued what has felt like her most dominant week on grass so far in her career as she enacted revenge on Collins with a 6-2 6-3 win following her defeat to the American in Rome.

With the victory she leapfrogged Martina Hingis with the 11th highest winning percentage in Women’s singles Grand Slam events in the Open Era with a record of 96-20, according to Opta.

“I was in the zone. I knew I needed to be brave and let my hands do the job, play fast and direct from the beginning,” said Swiatek in her on-court interview.

“I’m really happy with the performance because it was consistent and a good match. It’s a new experience to feel good on grass!”

Swiatek commanded the opening set from the baseline as she won 88 per cent of first-serve points while surrendering just six unforced errors to 14 from Collins, who did not convert one of her three break points. A similar theme ensured in the second set, Swiatek only increasing her dominance while denying her opponent a single break-point opportunity.

Swiatek will take on Denmark’s Clara Tauson after she beat 11th seed Elena Rybakina 7-6 6-3.

Elsewhere a tearful Krejcikova suffered a 6-2 3-6 4-6 loss to Navarro to see her title defence come to an end.

The Czech received medical attention from the trainer during the third set to have her blood pressure taken and was later seen crying at the back of the court while one game away from being beaten.

Krejcikova had exited the court under a towel shortly after losing the second set, before going on to squander five break points and surrendering her second service game to help pave the way to victory for Navarro.

Navarro will now advance to face Mirra Andreeva after the 18-year-old’s 6-1 6-3 win over Hailey Baptiste.

Sinner cruises through

Jannik Sinnner made light work of Pedro Martinez as the clinical world No 1 punched his ticket to the fourth round at Wimbledon with a straight-sets victory over the Spaniard.

Sinner is still yet to drop a set in the tournament as he beat Martinez 6-1 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes to tee up a meeting with 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who overcame Sebastian Ofner in straight sets elsewhere on the day.

There was little resistance to the consistency of the Italian’s power, timing and accuracy as Sinner hit 12 winners to his opponent’s two while winning 80 per cent of first serve points on his way to claiming the first set.

Martinez bought himself a window of opportunity while trailing 4-3 late in the second, only to squander four break points in what felt a defining moment were he to stand any chance of challenging Sinner.

It was one-way traffic from there as Sinner dominated on serve while firing 15 more winners on his way to a total of 46 in contrast to Martinez’s 12.

“I’m very happy but we all saw he was struggling with the shoulder and couldn’t serve well,” said Sinner. “On this surface if you can’t serve well, it’s not easy to play. But huge respect to him for coming out here and competing.

“From my side, I tried to stay solid at the back of the court. We had some great rallies.

“A huge honour to play in front of you [the crowd]. It’s amazing.

“The first week could not have gone better, so let’s see what happens [in the second week].”

American 10th seed Ben Shelton is also still yet to lose a set in the tournament as he beat Márton Fucsovics 6-3 7-6 6-2 to set up a fourth-round match against Lorenzo Sonego, who saw off Brandon Nakashima in a five-set thriller.

Marin Cilic, meanwhile, followed up his victory over Jack Draper by beating Spain’s Jaume Munar 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-4, and will now come up against Flavio Cobolli after the Italian’s 6-2 6-4 6-2 win over Jakub Mensik.

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