By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Novak Djokovic swept Adrian Mannarino to score his 30th consecutive Grand Slam match victory.
Photo credit: Stephen White/CameraSport
Novak Djokovic continues to expand the chasm between himself and the rest of the pack pursuing him.
World No. 2 Andy Murray says Djokovic's biggest strength is a lack of a discernable weakness.
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"He doesn't have a weakness in his game. He does everything well," Murray says of his former junior rival.
The holder of all four Grand Slam titles showed one slight shortcoming today: He's not always the ideal birthday guest.
It was Adrian Mannarino's 28th birthday, but Djokovic was doing all of the celebrating.
Playing beneath a closed Centre Court roof, the reigning champion denied eight of nine break points outclassing Mannarino, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5), rolling to his 30th consecutive Grand Slam victory.
The world No. 1 now owns the longest Grand Slam winning streak in the Open Era and the third-longest major match victory streak in history behind only Hall of Famers Don Budge (37 straight major wins) and Rod Laver (31 consecutive major wins).
"Of course, it's very flattering to know that (record)," Djokovic said. "It makes my team and myself very proud of what we managed to accomplish. The record that I managed to break today, yes, is one of the better ones because obviously as a professional tennis player, you always aim to play your best in Grand Slams.
"You want to be consistent and win as many matches in these tournaments that matter the most in our sport. Knowing that I won 30 in a row, it's very pleasing obviously. I want to keep on going. Let's see where it takes me."
Djokovic rolled into the Wimbledon third round for the eighth straight year. He will face either 28th-seeded American Sam Querrey or Brazilian left-hander Thomaz Bellucci for a spot in the round of 16.
It wasn't an entirely pristine performance from the top seed, who saved break points in the opening games of the first and third sets. Djokovic hit more double faults (eight) than aces (six) and delivered seven fewer winners than the flat-hitting Frenchman, who hit 30 winners.
Elevating his level when required, Djokovic played his slice backhand more frequently than he did in his first-round victory over James Ward. Striking cleanly, he committed half as many errors as the 55th-ranked Frenchman.
Knowing Mannarino plays with less margin, Djokovic worked the corners effectively to stretch the left-hander, sometimes changing direction with drives down the line.
Dodging a pair of break points in the opening game, Djokovic dropped just three points on his first serve in the opening set.
Mannarino's two-handed backhand is his most reliable stroke, but it failed him at the end of the opening set. Slapping successive flat backhands into net he dropped serve and the set.
Turning his shoulders into his shots, Djokovic broke for a 2-0 second-set lead and consistently punished Mannarino's second serve, winning 10 of 15 second-serve points in building a two-set lead.
"It was a challenge to play Mannarino on grass because he has a very good game for this surface," Djokovic said. "The shots that he comes up with are very flat, and they bounce very low. He picks up the ball very early. Has a very good variety on his serve, slice that fades away from you.
"He's definitely not easy to play against on grass. As I said, it was a very good challenge for me at the right time. I think I came up with the best game when it was most needed in all three sets."
The three-time champion's only real slip-ups came near the finish line. Serving for the match at 5-4, Djokovic double faulted on break point to surrender serve for the only time.
A key element of this match was Djokovic remained aggressive even under pressure. Serving at 5-6, Djokovic was down 0-30 when he successfully attacked behind a slice backhand. Thumping two successive heavy serves he held to force the tie break.
A jittery Mannarino netted a forehand drop volley that he didn't have to cut so finely and Djokovic pounced with a beautiful running backhand pass crosscourt for a 4-2 tie break lead.
On his second match point, a stretched Djokovic drilled a return right back at the Frenchman, coaxing an error to seal a two hour, four-minute triumph.
Djokovic popped his head into buddy Grigor Dimitrov's press conference on Monday just as Dimitrov was declaring he fears no one.
Today, Djokovic was visited by a special guest in his presser: Hall of Fame coach Nick Bollettieri.
"I keep looking to find a weakness in your game and I can't do it," Bollettieri tells Djokovic at about the 2:30 mark of the video above.
The coach is not alone.