Wimbledon 2021: ‘Flawless’ Novak Djokovic eases past Kevin Anderson in Round 2, Nick Kyrgios survives

Defending champion Novak Djokovic continued his title defense at the Wimbledon 2021 on Wednesday by cruising to a three-set victory over Kevin Anderson on Day 3 of The Championships in London.

The top-ranked Serbian, who is looking to win his sixth Championship, beat the South African Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to move into the third round at Wimbledon.

19-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic didn’t face a break point and committed just six unforced errors, including one with his forehand.

In a repeat of the 2018 final, the Serbian broke Anderson’s serve once in each set and offered up only five unforced errors. His only minor concern were a couple of tumbles to the turf on the lush grass, but he remained unruffled.

Twice Grand Slam runner-up Anderson, who is battling back after knee problems, did not play a bad match but Djokovic was at his ruthless best as he won in an hour and 41 minutes.

“It was almost flawless today, I hope my coach agrees with that,” the 34-year-old said on court.

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History repeats itself for @DjokerNole as the defending champion beats Kevin Anderson again at #Wimbledon to progress to the third round pic.twitter.com/RlkJIYNoIq

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2021

While Djokovic endured an up-and-down performance on the slippery surface and rose from one spill muttering in frustration, he had little trouble with Anderson. The preternaturally limber Djokovic extended one rally by hitting a forehand while down on his knee — and won the point.

Djokovic seeks his sixth Wimbledon title and third in a row. By winning the championship, he would also match the record total of 20 majors shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and would need only a title at the U.S. Open to sweep all four Grand Slams in 2021.

KYRGIOS STRETCHED TO 5 SETS

Meanwhile, unseeded Australian Nick Kyrgios survived a major scare in his round 2 clash to progress further at the Wimbledon after prevailing in 5 sets against Ugo Humbert.

Kyrgios won 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-1 9-7 against the 21st seed Frenchman in a match which lasted over 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Play was suspended at 3-3 in the deciding set at 11pm on Tuesday after 21st seed Humbert had led by two sets to one.

But Kyrgios, one of the biggest draws in the sport, showed great composure to finish the job on Court One and set up a second-round clash with Italian Gianluca Mager.