Novak Djokovic has warned his Wimbledon rivals that he is growing in confidence with each passing round after the defending champion cruised into the quarter-finals on Monday with a comfortable straight sets victory over Cristian Garin.
Djokovic has been unstoppable at the Grand Slams this season having collected the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles and his form so far at Wimbledon would suggest it is going to take something out of the ordinary to prevent the world No 1 from making it three in a row.
Chile's world No 17 Garin was no match for the 19-time Grand Slam champion in front of a 75 per cent capacity crowd on Centre Court as Djokovic eased to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win in one hour and 49 minutes.
“I am very delighted. Also delighted to see more fans on the Centre Court today. Pleasure to see you all. Thank you for coming. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did,” Djokovic, 34, said after reaching his 12th Wimbledon quarter-final.
“My confidence level is very high after winning the French Open. That was one of the biggest wins under those circumstances, particularly in the second week. It took a lot out of me but at the same time it gave me wings.
“The further the tournament goes I feel like I am more confident on grass and I look forward to the next challenge.”
Five-time champion Djokovic will next face Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, who made it fourth time lucky against Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev to advance to the quarter-finals.
Fucsovics had lost all three previous meetings to Rublev this year without taking a set, but the world No 48 came through a topsy-turvy battle 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 to become the first Hungarian to reach the last-eight since 1948.
That five-set duel was a breeze compared to the battle over on Court 18, where Rublev's compatriot Karen Khachanov edged out Sebastian Korda on his 21st birthday. In a match that lasted 11 minutes shy of four hours, 25th seed Khachanov claimed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 victory after a tense final set that comprised 13 service breaks.
Khachanov will next face the No 10 seed Denis Shapovalov, who hit 15 aces and beat No 8 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.
Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini, who won the Queen's Club Championship title in the lead-up to Wimbledon, became the first Italian man in 23 years to reach the quarter-finals by defeating Ilya Ivashka 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.
