Wimbledon Watch: Rafael Nadal breezes through, Novak Djokovic survives thigh scare, Marin Cillic crashes out

  • 7/6/2018
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Novak Djokovic made it through with a straight sets win over Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, despite a slight injury scare in the third set Cilic"s early exit opens up Federer’s path to the final even more LONDON: World number one Rafael Nadal made it to the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday with a straight sets victory over Mikhail Kukushkin. The Spanish second seed won 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Center Court against the world number 77. Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion, faces Australia’s Alex De Minaur on Saturday for a place in the last 16. Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic made it through with a straight sets win over Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, despite a slight injury scare in the third set. The former world number one, seeded 12th at the All England Club as he makes his way back from an elbow injury, won 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 for his 60th win at the tournament. The three-time Wimbledon champion, more used to playing on the main Center Court or Court One arenas, was in the strange position of playing on the 4,000-seater Court Two. Djokovic had treatment on his left thigh in the third set but overcame the problem to see out the set. He faces either British 21st seed Kyle Edmund or US qualifier Bradley Klahn in Saturday’s third round. Meanwhile, in the biggest shock of the tournament so far, Guido Pella of Argentina came from two sets down to stun third-seeded Marin Cilic at Wimbledon, beating last year’s finalist 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-5 in the second round. Cilic looked headed for a routine victory before the match was suspended by rain in the third set on Wednesday but the former US Open champion couldn’t find the same rhythm on Thursday. “Yesterday he was playing so, so good, and hitting the ball so hard that I couldn’t do anything,” the 82nd-ranked Pella said. “So the rain helped me a lot.” Cilic was runner-up to Roger Federer last year and showed great form by beating Novak Djokovic in the Queen’s Club final last month. His early exit opens up Federer’s path to the final even more, with No. 8 Kevin Anderson now the highest-seeded player left in the Swiss star’s side of the draw after No. 6 Grigor Dimitrov lost in the first round.

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