Novak Djokovic almost brought to his knees

London, July 4

Novak Djokovic says he wouldn’t have been surprised if his second-round match against young Jacob Fearnley at Wimbledon went to a fifth set, but he’s “very glad it didn’t.”

The seven-time champion at the All England Club beat his 22-year-old Scottish opponent 6-3 6-4 5-7 7-5 on Centre Court today in another test of his fitness following recent knee surgery. “Can I be playing better and moving better? Yes, absolutely,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview. “So I’m hoping that as the tournament progresses each day or each match I’ll be feeling a bit better.”

Fearnley, a wildcard entry who recently finished playing college tennis at TCU, had a strong cheering section that erupted when he took the third set.

Mixed day for Indians

Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti beat Alexander Bublik and Alexander Shevchenko 6-4 6-4, while Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden beat Robin Haas and Sander Arends 7-5 6-4 to enter the men’s doubles second round.

N Sriram Balaji and Luke Johnson fell 4-6 5-7 to Marcelo Alevaro and Mat Pavic. Sumit Nagal and Dusan Lajovic lost 2-6 2-6 to Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar. — Agencies

Day 3: highlights

SWIATEK OUSTS MARTIC

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat Petra Martic 6-4 6-3. Madison Keys made light work of China’s Wang Yafan, winning 6-2 6-2. Daria Kasatkina outclassed Briton Yuriko Miyazaki 6-0 6-0.

easy day for Badosa

Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa eased past Czech Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-4 6-2 to move into the third round. Wang Xinyu beat fifth seed Jessica Pegula with a stunning 6-4 6-7(7) 6-1 victory to reach the third round.

battle of veterans

Frenchman Gael Monfils, 37, sealed a hard-fought 7-6(5) 6-4 7-6(3) win over three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka. “It was a veteran battle. That’s why we still love the game,” he said.