Staff Reporter.
Novak Djokovic defeated a spirited Denis Kudla to move one step closer to retaining his Wimbledon title.
The Serbian world number one won 6-4 6-3 7-6 (9-7) to reach the fourth round, where he will play Chile’s 17th seed Cristian Garin.
American qualifier Kudla, a strong grass-court player, had held a 4-1 lead in the third-set tie-break but let his advantage slip.
“I have to give credit to Denis for playing really well,” Djokovic said.
“The third set was very close. He’s a great guy on and off the court, we get along really well and I wish him all the best.
“He played a great three sets today, he was a bit unlucky in the tie-break, he was in front for most of it. I somehow found the way to win.”
Djokovic – chasing a record-equalling 20th major – is now the first man to win at least 75 matches in all four Grand Slams.
Elsewhere, Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev needed almost three hours to defeat Italian Fabio Fognini.
Rublev won 6-3 5-7 6-4 6-2 to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time, and he will play Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics next after he defeated ninth seed Diego Schwartzman.
Rublev is one of two Russians to reach the fourth round, with Karen Khachanov also progressing with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win over Frances Tiafoe.
Roberto Bautista Agut, a semi-finalist at SW19 in 2019, battled to a 7-5 6-1 7-6 (7-4) victory against Dominik Koepfer.
He will play the winner of Friday’s Centre Court meeting between Andy Murray and 10th seed Denis Shapovalov.
Djokovic’s next opponent Garin is the first Chilean to reach the Wimbledon fourth round in 16 years after his four-set win over Pedro Martinez of Spain.
The last Chilean to reach this stage was Fernando Gonzalez, who went on to the quarter-finals in 2005.
Meanwhile Ons Jabeur came from a set down to clinch a stunning 5-7 6-3 6-2 victory over Garbine Muguruza to clinch her spot in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
The Tunisian rose to the challenge on Centre Court to knock out the two-time Grand Slam winner in two hours and 26 minutes.
Jabeur’s nerves at match point even saw her vomit in the corner of the court before she served out for victory.
She will now play seventh seed Iga Swiatek of Poland.
Swiatek, who won the French Open in 2020, beat Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1 6-0 although the 55-minute match could have been even quicker, had it not been for a 10-minute fifth game in the second set.
Jabeur, who served six aces in her win over Spaniard Muguruza, represents an awkward opponent in the next round, according to Swiatek.
“She can play slices, she can play flat balls, she can play topspins. She has like a wide range of options and she’s tricky,” Swiatek said.
“It’s going be tough. It’s fourth round of a Grand Slam, so I’m not expecting an easy match.”
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka reached the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time after a comfortable 6-0 6-3 win over Colombian Maria Camila Osorio Serrano.