Regular as clockwork, Djokovic eases into Wimbledon third round

London (Reuters): Novak Djokovic trails Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal in many of the game’s most important metrics, but when it comes to consistently reaching the third round at Wimbledon, which he achieved with dazzling ease on Wednesday, he leaves his rivals in his wake.

The Serb dismantled American Denis Kudla 6-3 6-2 6-2 with ruthless efficiency and just enough flamboyance to satisfy the Centre Court crowd.

That put him in the last 32 at the All England Club for the 11th straight year, a professional-era mark only surpassed by American Jimmy Connors — and one more than the game’s most decorated player Federer. The world number one had only once lost to a player lower than the 111th-ranked Kudla in a Grand Slam — to Denis Istomin at the 2017 Australian Open — and there was never any chance of a repeat on Wednesday.