World No 1 Novak Djokovic racked up his 30th successive Grand Slam victory yesterday when he brushed aside Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to reach the Wimbledon third round.

The defending champion, bidding for a third consecutive title at the All England Club and fourth in all, will face either American 28th seed Sam Querrey or Thomaz Bellucci for a place in the last 16.

Djokovic’s match was played under the roof of Centre Court as heavy rain brought chaos to the schedule, allowing just 15 minutes of play on the outside courts.

Don Budge holds the record for successive Slam matches won, reaching 37 in 1938.

French left-hander Mannarino was celebrating his 28th birthday yesterday.

Tomas Berdych battled the elements and a gritty display by his unseeded Croatian opponent Ivan Dodig before sealing a 7-6(5) 5-7 6-1 7-6(2) win.

With the rain cutting a swathe through the programme for the second day running, the 10th-seeded Czech served for the match when play resumed after being called off with him leading 4-1 in the fourth set the previous day.

But in damp windy conditions that gradually turned to steady drizzle and led to play being called off on all but one of Wimbledon’s other outside courts, Dodig broke serve and saved two match points before taking the match to a tiebreak.

But Berdych, runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the All England Club in 2010 and contesting his 52nd consecutive grand slam, steadied his nerves to take the breaker 7-2 when he forced a backhand error from Dodig.

The Czech, vocal in his criticism of how French Open officials managed rain interruptions at Roland Garros earlier this month, next plays unseeded German Benjamin Becker.

Play on all outside courts was suspended until 1330 GMT, with further rain delays forecast into the evening.

Centre Court action began on time with the roof closed. — AFP.

You Might Also Like

Comments