The defending champion Novak Djokovic continued his dominating run in the ongoing Wimbledon 2022 as he defeated Tim van Rijthoven by 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Centre Court on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals and keep his goal of winning the fourth consecutive Championship alive.
Djokovic had to battle hard though against the Dutchman, who had an 8-0 record on grass before the clash. However, the Serbian was able to hit the ground running as he broke his opponents’ serve in the second game of the opening set.
The number one seed took the first when Rijthoven was serving at 5-2 but the Serbian was able to once again break his serve. But, the 25-year-old bounced back stronger in the second set as he won it by 6-4 to settle the score. However, Djokovic was at his lethal best in the last two sets as he ticked the right boxes.
Djokovic was happy with his performance and was glad to go past a difficult opponent.
“I knew coming into the match that it was always going to be a tough, challenging matchup against Tim, who I’ve never faced before,” Djokovic said in his post-match presser. “I watched him play. He’s got a really good game for grass, which he proved today. [It] was a very good fight, especially in the first two sets.
“But overall I think I’ve played very well, very solid from back of the court. I got into his service rhythm, started reading his serve better in the third and fourth sets.”
“I just really am pleased with the way I closed out the match,” Djokovic added. “I lost the rhythm on my serve a little bit towards the end of the match, but overall just a good fight and really challenging match for me on grass.”
Djokovic will next face Italian young sensation Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinal clash. The Serbian feels the youngster has matured a lot in the recent past and he sees a shadow of himself in the Italian.
“He’s maturing a lot on the big stage. I think he doesn’t feel too much pressure on the big stage,” Djokovic said of Sinner. “He’s very solid. He has every shot in his game: serve, return, forehand, backhand. He’s constantly putting pressure on opponents.
“I kind of see a little bit of myself in his game, as well, from back of the court, playing flat backhands, constantly staying on the back of the line, trying to put pressure on opponents.”
Djokovic and Sinner will face each other on Tuesday at Centre Court.
