London: Novak Djokovic raced into the Wimbledon third round for the ninth year running, with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 drubbing of tournament debutant Adam Pavlasek on a sweltering Court One, Thursday.
Earlier, Grigor Dimitrov gave an exhibition of his enormous talent, striding emphatically into the third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
The three-time champion was in relentless form in the 30 degree Celsius heat. He pinned his Czech opponent behind the baseline with unerring groundstrokes off both wings, moving him from side to side and forcing error after error.
Pavlasek was playing his childhood idol and the 22-year-old, ranked 136, appeared overawed by the occasion. He rarely tested the Serbian second seed, who is looking to salvage his season after losing his Australian and French Open crowns.
It was 30-year-old Djokovic’s first full match at this year’s championships after his first-round opponent retired hurt with the Serb leading 6-3, 2-0. He will next play the winner of the clash between Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro and Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
Dimitrov looked less like his ‘Baby Federer’ nickname and more like the Swiss maestro all grown up as he made light work of Baghdatis, a former semifinalist at the All England Club.
The 13th-seeded Bulgarian looked intensely focussed as he raced through his opening four service games conceding just two points, before breaking for a 5-3 lead and then wrapping up the first set in the next game with his third ace.
It was then a case of simply tightening his stranglehold, which he did by breaking Baghdatis in the first game of the second and again in the seventh, eventually taking the set after a behind-the-back trickshot.
Dimitrov did not have everything his own way in the third, and was forced to save seven break points, but still broke three times himself to claim an emphatic win.
