Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic safely progressed into the fourth round but only after he narrowly avoided being served a bagel during a hard-fought win over 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech.
Djokovic suffered a shock exit in the last 32 of the French Open last month and while he prevented a repeat at the All England Club on Friday afternoon, a 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory only told half the story for the 24-time grand slam singles winner.
Frenchman Rinderknech had been two points away from dishing out the 13th 6-0 score of Djokovic’s career during an extraordinary 18-minute third set on Centre Court, but the 39-year-old avoided that unwanted feat and regrouped in set four to go through.
Seventh seed Djokovic would have expected to face his Roland Garros conqueror and highly rated 19-year-old Joao Fonseca next, but he was outfoxed by Roman Safiullin earlier in the day.
Qualifier Safiullin produced 41 winners during a dominant display, but has lost all three previous meetings with Djokovic.
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