Novak Djokovic overcame a challenging Wimbledon match to remain on track for a record-tying eighth men's title on Thursday. Jessica Pegula, the highest-ranked player to exit the tournament thus far, was ousted by China's Wang Xinyu in the second round.
Djokovic, a seven-time champion, faced a tough battle against British wildcard Jacob Fearnley but emerged victorious with a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 win in a three-hour second-round match. Initially, it seemed routine for the Serbian as he took a two-set lead on Centre Court, but Fearnley, ranked 277th, rallied in the third set, breaking Djokovic twice to narrow the gap.
Fearnley, in his first Grand Slam appearance, created two break points in the sixth game of the fourth set but failed to capitalize. Djokovic then broke in the 11th game and served out for the victory. Djokovic, 37, admitted he hadn't seen Fearnley play before and noted the British player's familiarity with grass courts and excellent serving on a windy day.
Djokovic, who is playing with knee protection following recent surgery, aims to match Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles and is targeting a record 25th Grand Slam title. Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Pegula lost 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-1 to Wang Xinyu, who celebrated her first top-10 victory.
Wang, ranked 42nd, dominated the final set 5-0. She expressed her delight at the win, acknowledging Pegula's challenging play on grass. Wang will next face Britain's Harriet Dart for a place in the last 16. In other matches, two-time finalist Ons Jabeur defeated US qualifier Robin Montgomery, and 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov rallied from two sets down to beat China's Shang Juncheng.
Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka was eliminated by Gael Monfils, and seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz retired due to a knee injury against Frenchman Arthur Fils. Fils, the youngest Frenchman to reach the Wimbledon third round since 2005, will face Russian Roman Safiullin next.
