Djokovic tames wildcard Van Rijthoven to set up Sinner clash

LONDON: Top seed Novak Djokovic raised his level to put an end to the fairytale run of Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven during a battling 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory on Sunday and keep his Wimbledon title defense on track.

Chasing a fourth straight Wimbledon crown and seventh overall at the grass-court major, Djokovic is now unbeaten on the manicured lawns of the All England Club since retiring due to an elbow injury against Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals.

Djokovic will play Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner for a place in Friday’s semi-finals after the 20-year-old ousted fifth-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the previous contest on Centre Court.

Van Rijthoven was ranked 205th in the world last month and had not even won a Challenger Tour title when he triumphed at the ATP 250 grass-court event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, defeating world number one Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-1 in the final.