Reigning men’s champion Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon third round with a win over Jarkko Nieminen which brought down the curtain on the Finn’s All England Club career.
Top seed Djokovic, who won 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, will take on Australian 27th seed Bernard Tomic for a place in the last 16 as the Serb continues his bid to win a third Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam crown.
It was Djokovic’s sixth career win in seven meetings against the 33-year-old Nieminen and the two men exchanged a warm embrace at the net once their 92-minute Centre Court duel had ended.
“It was his last Wimbledon so I congratulated him on a great career,” Djokovic said.
“He’s been around for many years and he’s one of the nicest guys off the court and a great fighter on it. It was a pleasure to play him.”
Djokovic overcame a break early in the first set but from then on it was plain sailing for the champion who finished with an impressive 36 winners.
“I was solid throughout. He broke early on but I regrouped and played some good tennis,” Djokovic said.
Nieminen, whose best performance at the All England Club was a quarter-final run in 2006, had ended the Wimbledon career of 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the first round.
After his own curtain call on Wednesday, he placed a kiss on the Centre Court grass as the fans gave him and the champion a standing ovation.
Milos Raonic almost matched the Wimbledon serving speed record against German veteran Tommy Haas as the Canadian powerhouse moved into the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday.
Seventh seed Raonic, a semi-finalist last year on the west London lawns, boomed down one delivery at 145mph, just short of the 148mph missile American Taylor Dent produced five years ago.
Despite his ferocious game, the Canadian was still dragged into a fourth set by the injury-plagued 37-year-old former world No2 Haas, who on Monday became the oldest man to win a Wimbledon singles match since Jimmy Connors in 1991.
“I mean, that serve is special, that’s for sure,” Haas, who lost 6-0 6-2 6-7(5) 7-6(4) on a cauldron-like Court One, said.
“It’s been a while since I faced a serve like that.”
A double fault by the narrowest of margins allowed Marin Cilic to complete a great escape at Wimbledon on Wednesday as the U.S. Open champion lived to fight another day with a 6-3 4-6 7-6(6) 4-6 7-5 victory over journeyman Richard Berankis.
The Lithuanian appeared to be on the verge of pulling off a shock upset when he held two break points at 5-5 in the fifth set.
But Croatian Cilic saved the first with a forehand winner and blew out his cheeks in relief when he saw Berankis’s forehand drop long on the second.
One game later it was all over as Hawkeye confirmed Berankis’s second serve at match point down had missed the line by millimetres, allowing Cilic to book a third-round clash with American John Isner.
WOMEN’S ROUND-UP
In the ladies event, Maria Sharapova outclassed Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp as the former Wimbledon champion breezed into the third round with a straight sets victory on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Sharapova took 65 minutes to see off the world number 123 in a 6-3, 6-1 second round win.
Sharapova faces either Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine or Romanian 29th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in the round of 32.
Hogenkamp, 23, was making her main draw debut at the All England Club but was no match for the Russian 2004 champion.
Sharapova followed her boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov on the 4,000-capacity Court Two, the Bulgarian 11th seed having made it though to the third round with a straight sets win over Steve Johnson of the United States.
Sharapova, 28, hit 23 winners as she booked her place in the third round.
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