Wimbledon Day 3: Djokovic rolls over Tsitsipas, Sinner and Sabalenka cruise, Gauff survives thriller

Djokovic's dominant display

Novak Djokovic needed only one hour and 38 minutes to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, reaching the third round with an almost flawless performance. The 39-year-old Serbian hit 33 winners and committed just seven unforced errors, winning four of five break points and rarely troubled on serve. Djokovic was in a playful mood, even joking with a court assistant by pretending she had snipped his arm.

Winners33

Unforced errors7

Winners

33 count

Unforced errors

7 count

Data from the article text

He praised his form after the match.

“You feel very happy and satisfied and joyful on the court when you're playing this way.”

He now faces French 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech.

Tsitsipas's continued slide

Once a top-five player and two-time Grand Slam finalist, Stefanos Tsitsipas has fallen to world No 87 and has now lost 12 straight matches against Djokovic. The Greek has not advanced past the second round of a major for nine consecutive Grand Slams. His father Apostolos recently stopped coaching him, acknowledging that something has gone drastically wrong.

Sinner and Sabalenka prevail in straights

Men's defending champion Jannik Sinner overcame Nuno Borges 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-4, though he admitted there are still improvements to be made.

“There are still a few things we need to improve.”

Women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka also won in straights, beating McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6(9) after saving set points. Sabalenka was relieved to power through.

“She played incredible and super aggressive and it was really tough to handle the second set and I am glad to have powered through.”

Gauff survives, Andreeva exits

Coco Gauff needed a deciding tiebreak to beat Solana Sierra 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(10-7), avoiding a third first-round loss in four years. She rallied from 5-4 down in the final set. The biggest casualty of the day was French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, who fell to 2024 winner Barbora Krejcikova in an emotional three-set thriller.

British hopes on day four

Attention turns to British wildcards Katie Swan and Arthur Fery, who lead the home charge on day four. Swan faces Madison Keys, while Fery meets Otto Virtanen, conqueror of Ben Shelton. Defending champion Iga Swiatek also takes on Karolina Pliskova.