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Novak Djokovic swept past Jarrko Nieminen 6-4 6-2 6-3 to continue the defence of his Wimbledon title. Even though the world number one found himself down an early break due to some ferocious hitting from the Finn, Djokovic eventually wore his opponent down to secure his place in the next round.
Nieminen started the match in emphatic style, blasting forehands past Djokovic to immediately break the world number one and built a 2-0 lead. Remarkably, the Finn showed little signs of fatigue from his gruelling five set battle with Lleyton Hewitt in the first round, but the Serbian eventually worked his way back into the match. Djokovic restored the break with solid play, and then clinched the set 6-4 after outlasting Nieminen in two lengthily rallies.
The defending champion was much more settled in the second set, manoeuvring the Finn around with his deep groundstrokes to press for the advantage. He was rewarded with an early break at 2-1, and Djokovic comfortably maintained the lead, sealing the set with yet another break following a deft volley that the Finn was unable to control.
The Serbian was in complete control, and one break of serve was enough in the third set for Djokovic to ruthlessly ensure that Nieminen would be making his final appearance at Wimbledon. The Finn did his best to extend his time at SW19 and made the defending champion serve for the match, but Djokovic easily completed the victory to swiftly move into the third round. The Serbian will now take on the Australian Bernard Tomic.
In the other matches, Grigor Dimitrov beat Steve Johnson 7-6 6-2 7-6 to book a meeting with Richard Gasquet, whilst Milos Raonic will play Nick Kyrgios in the next round after both earned second round victories. In addition, there were wins for John Isner, Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cilic.
However, Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a calf injury, and Liam Broady saw his encouraging Wimbledon run end at the hands of David Goffin.
On the women’s side, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur all went through to the third round following straight set wins. In addition, Britain’s Heather Watson also joined them, beating Daniela Hantuchová 6-4 6-2, but Ana Ivanovic was upset by Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
