Djokovic Races Into Round Three

© Getty ImagesNovak Djokovic has not been troubled on his route through to the third round.

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic continued his impressive form in the first week at The Championships as he dismissed South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 at Wimbledon on Thursday to reach the third round.

The Serbian struck 31 winners and broke serve five times from nine opportunities as he raced to victory in one hour and 54 minutes on No. 1 Court. He has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon twice before, falling to Rafael Nadal in 2007 and Tomas Berdych in 2010.

"I'm really happy with the opening two rounds in Wimbledon," said Djokovic. "Two straight-set wins. I cannot ask for more, definitely. And I'm physically feeling great on the court. I'm returning really well, which is important. Using more an efficiency of the serve and precision rather than going for the speed."

The 24-year-old Djokovic is bidding to win his third Grand Slam championship after adding the second trophy to his haul at the Australian Open (d. Murray) in January. The Belgrade native posted a phenomenal 41-0 record through the first five months of the season, before the run came to an end against Roger Federer in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

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"Mentally I do have a different approach to Wimbledon than I had years before. It's obvious because of the winning streak that I had, the confidence that is very high. It makes it easier to step on the court because you believe in yourself. You know that you're one of the best players in the world and you know that you can win against anybody."

For a place in the fourth round, Djokovic will face 2006 semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis, who came through two rain delays to defeat last week’s Eastbourne champion Andreas Seppi 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5 in two hours and 27 minutes. The Cypriot, who reached the Australian Open final in 2006 (l. to Federer), hit 34 winners and 14 winners as he notched his 14th win of the season.

The 26-year-old Limassol native came into Wimbledon with only one semi-final showing to his name in 2011, which came two weeks ago in Halle (l. to Dodig). He will look to overturn a 0-4 record against Djokovic on Saturday.

Last year’s surprise quarter-finalist, Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei, sprung another upset on Wednesday as he ousted 13th-seeded Serbian Viktor Troicki 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 14 minutes. The 27-year-old Lu, who stunned Andy Roddick in the 2010 fourth round, had not won back-to-back tour-level matches this season prior to Wimbledon.

The No. 57-ranked Lu goes on to face French No. 19 seed Michael Llodra, who survived the loss of the second set to defeat Brazil’s Ricardo Mello 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes. The 31-year-old Llodra is through to the third round at Wimbledon for the first time in 11 attempts.  

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