Wimbledon: Majestic Djokovic, Serena move into last-16, Robson ends British wait

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams cruised effortlessly into the Wimbledon fourth round Saturday as the first week’s shockwaves left just eight of the top 20 seeds still standing.

World number one Djokovic, the 2011 champion, destroyed French 28th seed Jeremy Chardy, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in just 86 minutes.

He fired 38 winners, eight aces and committed just three unforced errors.

“I felt very confident to step onto the court and everything went my way,” said Djokovic after his 50th career grasscourt win.

“I haven’t lost many points on my service games. I did everything I wanted to do. I enjoy it very much when everything works well. It’s a fantastic feeling.”

Djokovic, yet to drop his serve, will tackle veteran Tommy Haas for a place in the quarter-finals, just weeks after he beat the German in the French Open quarter-finals.

But 13th-seeded Haas beat the Serb star in Miami this season and also got the better of him in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2009.

Women’s defending champion Serena Williams was equally ruthless taking just over an hour to carve out a 6-2, 6-0 win over Japanese 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.

It was the 600th win of Williams’s career as the American continued her gentle cruise towards a sixth Wimbledon title and 17th Grand Slam crown.

Serena Williams

She will face German 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki for a quarter-final place where victory will also give her a 35th successive win, taking her level with sister Venus’s record set in 2000.

“Wow, 600 wins. I had no idea. What better place than under the roof at Centre Court to achieve it,” said the 31-year-old American.

Only four of the top 10 men’s seeds and four of the top 10 in the women’s draw have made it to the second week after the Grand Slam heavyweights of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka had all exited by Wednesday.

Laura Robson took full advantage by becoming the first British woman to make the last 16 for 15 years when she came from a set and 3-5 down to defeat New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Laura Robson

“I was getting my butt kicked in the first set,” said Robson.

“But I told myself just to keep working hard, she will get nervous and that’s what happened.”

The 19-year-old goes on to face Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, a former quarter-finalist.

Robson, currently ranked 38 in the world, will also move into the top 30 after the tournament, the first British woman to break that barrier since Jo Durie in April, 1987.

The men’s fourth round will feature five men making their maiden appearance at the fourth round stage.

France’s Kenny De Schepper, the 26-year-old world number 80, beat Argentine 22nd seed Juan Monaco, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 to book a last-16 spot at a major for the first time.

Poland’s Lukasz Kubot, ranked 130, also made the fourth round in 2011, and is the second Pole to reach the last-16 after 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz also booked his place on Friday.

Kubot beat 25th seed Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 and next faces French world number 111 Adrian Mannarino who has made the last-16 at a major for the first time in 14 attempts.

Left-hander De Schepper will face experienced Fernando Verdasco after the Spanish former top 10 player, now at 54 in the world, cruised past temperamental Latvian Ernests Gulbis, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

Russian 20th seed Mikhail Youzhny, a quarter-finalist in 2012, defeated Serbia’s Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 and goes on to face British second seed Andy Murray.

Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer, a quarter-finalist last year, managed to escape the caranage.

But he needed five sets to beat Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Ferrer will face Croatia’s Ivan Dodig, the world 49, for a place in the quarter-finals.

Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych, the runner-up in 2010, claimed his ninth win in nine meetings with South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, coming through 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Berdych takes on unseeded Australian Bernard Tomic, a quarter-finalist in 2011, who put out French ninth seed, Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (9/7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5).

Dodig reached his first fourth round at Wimbledon when Dutchman Igor Sijsling quit trailing 6-0, 6-1, 1-0.

Sijsling’s withdrawal equalled the injury pullouts record of 13 from 2008.

Italian 23rd seed Andreas Seppi beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori, 3-6, 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-4, also for a maiden last-16 place.

Seppi will face Argentine eighth seed Juan Martin Del Potro who defeated Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-0.

In the women’s draw, Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up to Williams last year, defeated Madison Keys of the United States, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3

She will face 2010 semi-finalist, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria who defeated Petra Martic of Croatia, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

Chinese sixth seed Li Na survived a roller-coaster of a battle to edge Czech veteran Klara Zakopalova, 4-6, 6-0, 8-6.

Next up for Li is Italian 11th seed Roberta Vinci who saw off Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1, 6-4.

The 2011 champion Petra Kvitova, the eighth seed and highest ranked player in her half after the exits of Sharapova and Azarenka, reached the fourth round with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 defeat of Russian 25th seed Ekaterina Makarova.