Wimbledon 2021: 3 talking points from Novak Djokovic's dominant 4r win over Cristian Garin
Novak Djokovic breezed past Cristian Garin in straight sets on Monday to make the last eight at Wimbledon. The Serb looked in control of proceedings from start to finish, winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 and reaching the 50th Major quarterfinal of his career.
Djokovic is on an incredible run at Grand Slams, which has continued unabated at the Championships this fortnight. The World No. 1 has now won 18 consecutive matches at the Majors, and is vying for his third consecutive Slam trophy.
The two-time defending champion is also on an 18-match winning run at SW19.
On that note, here's a look at three key takeaways from Djokovic's straight-sets win over Garin:
#1 Novak Djokovic was once again absolutely clinical on serve
Novak Djokovic's serve has played a crucial role in his success at Wimbledon this year. He produced some clutch serving after dropping the first set against local favorite Jack Draper in the first round, and has been broken just twice in the three rounds since.
After complaining about his serving consistency following his third-round encounter, the Serb's numbers with the first serve were phenomenal during his match against Garin. Novak Djokovic won 92% of his first-serve points, and landed 58% of them. In fact, Garin managed to win just three out of 39 points on Djokovic's first serve.
The Serb also had a success rate of 68% on the second serve, which played a big part in shutting the door on Garin.
#2 Cristian Garin's limitations on grass were exposed
More than a few were surprised by Cristian Garin's run to the second week at the Championships this year. The Chilean, widely regarded as a claycourt specialist, had never won a main-draw match at Wimbledon prior to this year, and was handed a fairly tricky draw.
But after getting through a couple of marathon matches in the first week, Garin's clear weaknesses on grass - inconsistency on serve and lack of natural power -- were exposed by Novak Djokovic on Monday. The Chilean played catch-up right from the first game of the match, and he never managed to make an impact with his defense-based game.
#3 The return of serve remains Novak Djokovic's greatest strength on grass
Novak Djokovic has one of the most well-rounded games on tour at the moment, with a unique combination of baseline prowess and variety. But his greatest strength on grass remains his return of serve, which can nullify his opponent's weapons in the blink of an eye.
Djokovic won a whopping 41% of points while returning Garin's first serve on Monday, and converted 5 of his 12 break-point opportunities. The Serb comfortably navigated his way through Garin's second serve as well, winning 15 out of 37 points.
Noavk Djokovic is undoubtedly the favorite for the title at SW19 this week. With potential matches against big servers coming up ahead, the Serb will be relying on his superhuman returning abilities to turn the tide further in his favor.