Novak Djokovic was in almost unplayable form yesterday against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the top seed marched into his 21st consecutive major quarter-final 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (5) over the Frenchman.
The last time Djokovic failed to make a quarter-final at a grand slam was in the 2009 French Open and there was little evidence that his streak would be over in the last 16 at Wimbledon on Monday.
Despite a spike in Tsonga’s form in the third set, Djokovic pounced when it mattered and it was a ripping backhand return that earned him a spot in the last eight against Croatia’s Marin Cilic.
“I had a couple of tough matches in the first week. It was helpful to win in straight sets against a quality player like Jo,” said the world No2.
Djokovic got the first break of the match in game six, edging ahead 4-2 and he quickly consolidated with a big service winner and it was all he needed to secure the opening set.
Tsonga made a powerful start to the second, firing an ace to get on the board, but he only needed to blink once in the seventh game to allow Djokovic a break and the world No2 upped the ante in game nine, to get three set points on his opponent’s serve.
Tsonga saved all three though with huge serves and forced Djokovic to serve out the set himself, which the top seed had no trouble doing.
Djokovic won 86 per cent of his second serve points in the first two sets as Tsonga was clearly not doing enough on return.
The 2011 champion was giving a master class in returning and Tsonga faced two break points in the fourth game but relied on his serve to get him out of trouble.
The Frenchman starting picking things up and rallied the crowd behind him, getting his first break points in the eighth game but Djokovic fought back to hold serve.
Tsonga elevated his level but was still unable to break the Serb’s serve and the third set went to a tiebreak. The first 10 points went on serve before Djokovic got a sole mini-break.
He then struck a phenomenal backhand return winner on a second serve from Tsonga to blast into the last eight, spreading his arms wide to take in the applause.
“In the third set he started to serve very well, very efficient, very strong,” said Djokovic, who has now beaten Tsonga in their last 11 meetings.
“It was very hard to get him into any rallies.
“We both served well in the tiebreak. I played a great match.”
Earlier in the day, Andy Murray stormed into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for a seventh consecutive year as he tackled a variety of conditions to stave off a late assault from 6’8” South African Kevin Anderson.
In a match that started outdoors and ended under the roof, Murray was in control, racing to a 6-4, 3-0 lead before play was suspended due to rain.
The pair returned 30 minutes later after the Centre Court roof had been closed and Anderson immediately got one of the breaks back, benefitting from a lucky net cord.
The No20 seed returned from the break a better player but despite his aggressive shots, Murray still managed to get through 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6).
“Everything was going my way when we stopped, and then, yeah, it's different conditions,” said Murray of the changes brought on by the roof.
“There's a big difference between playing indoors and outdoors. It changes the way the court plays. He started hitting the ball cleaner.
“I still played pretty well under the roof. I was just a little bit more tentative.”
Murray has yet to drop a set these two weeks at SW19 but he’s aware things will only get tougher from here on.
“Physically I feel good. I've been moving well. And mentally I haven't had to use loads of energy yet. But I'm aware that's going to come. It's been a good start to the tournament,” said Murray, who now faces the challenge of No11 seed Grigor Dimitrov.
The Bulgarian, who won the title in Queen’s to warm up for the Championships, eased past Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-2 to reach his first quarter-final at Wimbledon and second in majors overall.
Marin Cilic became just the fourth Croatian man in history to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon after the No26 seed overcame Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-4.
This time last year, Cilic had withdrawn from his second round here which was later revealed to be due to him failing a drug test.
It prompted him to serve a six-month ban and the Croat, coached by 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, has been in continuous improvement since his return.
“For me, the most important part was that I found some mental toughness out of all of that,” Cilic said, referring to his suspension.
“When I came back, it sort of gave me more motivation to work and use every opportunity I have to be prepared for every tournament. Obviously I used that time as well for physical preparation. I was doing a lot.
“Overall, I used it very, very good in a physical part and I am feeling very well. I think my game is on a high level. Plus, it's becoming much more consistent performances day after day.”
