By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic has spent the latter half of his glittering career equalling records set by former rival Roger Federer and the Serb was at it again as he notched up win number 105 at Wimbledon to reach the fourth round on Friday.
The 39-year-old, eyeing Federer’s men’s record eight Wimbledon singles crowns, suffered a third-set wobble against dangerous Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech and was pushed hard before closing out a 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) Centre Court victory.
Another one against Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin will take him to second alone on the all-time Wimbledon match win list behind only Martina Navratilova’s 120.
The way Djokovic dispatched Stefanos Tsitsipas in a round-two masterclass proved that very few players can touch him on grass and it was a similar story against 30-year-old Rinderknech for the opening two sets on a sun-bathed Centre Court.
His precision shot-making and trademark elasticity had the crowd roaring their approval and Djokovic lapped it up.
Rinderknech was great value though, playing his full part in an absorbing duel littered with stunning rallies that sometimes had both players diving around the turf.
The 25th seed romped away with the third and came close to handing Djokovic his first 6-0 bagel set at Wimbledon.
Dialling up the power and accuracy of his serve, Rinderknech suddenly became a real threat but Djokovic steadied the ship and played a flawless fourth-set tiebreak.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman;Editing by Alison Williams)
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