TENNIS:WE KNEW this year that here was a new Novak Djokovic lurking. Little did we know the Serb has actually changed shape. There has been a lot of loud talk about the new improved world number two, but the physical change as much as the tennis has been an arresting aspect of an unfussy player moving so effortlessly through the first week that he is attracting little attention. Djokovic is like the obedient child in a room full of brats.
Unlike Lleyton Hewitt, who can’t do much at all without breaking the windows and leaving scorch marks on the grass after titanic battles over five sets, Djokovic has glided and feinted his way into the third round.
Less flesh on his long face, a few pounds lighter all round and the only sound we could hear from the first match yesterday on Court One was the purring of the 24-year-old going through the gears. And he never had to gun the accelerator too heavily to carve his second straight set win, this time over the 6ft 7in South African Kevin Anderson.
Often such tall players can cause players problems. The serve coming from such an acute angle and the wing span can make them awkward opponents. But Djokovic arrived with his game as streamlined as it was when he went on his recent berserk 43-match winning streak that this year took him from the Australian Open in January to the semi-finals at Roland Garros before he was beaten.
Now on grass, Djokovic has also found faith, his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Anderson following the pattern of a first round win over Jeremy Chardy where he conceded only six games.
“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, you know, 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. So this is my mindset. I try to step on the court and really, regardless who is across the net . . .”
A player without baggage, more refined, single minded and now more comfortable among the elite than he has ever been, Djokovic took the match in under two hours.
“Everything came together really, mentally, physically, and game-wise, obviously,” he said. “I matured. I have, what, five, six years professional level behind me, which is quite a lot, and I’ve learned something from those years.”
Hewitt also has learned from his years, perhaps too many years now. To make it interesting, the crowd-pleasing Aussie went two sets up against Sweden’s Robin Soderling before handing them back again to send the match into a fifth set.
Hewitt has been dogged with injury and came to London having won just two of his last 24 matches against top 10 opposition. Soderling turned the final set in his favour to win 6-7(5) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, prompting questions about the future of the 30-year-old Hewitt at Wimbledon.
“I felt that even though I was two sets to love down I knew that if I raised my game I could win it. It’s nice to see that he’s injury free and back on tour. I hope he’s going to be around for a while,” said Soderling.
Roger Federer lost just seven games on his way to completing a second-round victory over Conor Niland’s conqueror Adrian Mannarino.
The six-time champion hardly broke sweat as he outclassed his French opponent 6-2 6-3 6-2 in an hour and 25 minutes on Centre Court.
Queen’s runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga battled back from behind to complete a four-set win over 20-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in a long and entertaining match on Court One.
The Frenchman leapt over the net and picked up his opponent in a sporting gesture after winning a thrilling fourth-set tie break to take the match 6-7 (7/4) 6-4 6-4 7-6 (10/8).
Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu produced a shock on Court 18 as he knocked out 13th seed Viktor Troicki 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 6-4, while Slovakia’s Karol Beck also upset the odds to overcome 26th seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 3-6 6-4.
Juan Martin Del Potro will line against Gilles Simon in round three after dismissing Olivier Rochus 6-7 (9/7) 6-1 6-0 6-4.
