No stumbling block for Novak

LONDON • Players continued to tumble at Wimbledon amid criticism of the grass-court surface at the All England Club, and it was no different for Novak Djokovic, who suffered several slips during his second-round match against Kevin Anderson yesterday.

But neither the conditions nor his opponent proved to be much of a barrier as the top seed cruised to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over the 102nd-ranked South African.

After beating British teenager Jack Draper in his opener, the world No. 1 and defending champion said he did not recall "falling this many times on court".

The Serb, who is the overwhelming favourite to clinch a record-tying 20th Grand Slam title, again slipped and fell on at least five occasions on Centre Court.

However, Djokovic dusted himself down each time, easing to victory over the man he defeated in the 2018 final here without facing a single break point and committing just six unforced errors.

On the slippery grass, Djokovic, who will next face American qualifier Denis Kudla, who beat Italian veteran Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, said it was a bit puzzling but it would not be a distraction as he seeks his sixth Wimbledon title.

"I have a nice connection with the crowd," he added. "I also seem to be having a really nice connection with the grass.

"I don't recall falling so much in the first two matches at Wimbledon previously. It was almost flawless today, I hope my coach agrees with that."

Nick Kyrgios, another player who has raised complaints about the conditions, took a nasty fall during the fifth set of his match with France's Ugo Humbert, but the Australian recovered to win 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 9-7.

In the women's draw, Canadian fifth seed Bianca Andreescu also slipped on several occasions as she slumped to an opening 6-2, 6-1 defeat by France's Alize Cornet.

The highest seed to fall at Wimbledon so far, the 2019 US Open champion later hit out at the surface after her awful record on grass continued - both her appearances here have ended in first-round exits.

"I didn't slip just once. I slipped like six times during the match," Andreescu said.

"I felt my ankle a little bit, just for like two, three points but then it went away. It was fine.

"The courts are super slippery. I have played here only once before, but the courts weren't like this at all. I spoke to a couple of players and they said it's not that normal, but this is something we can't control."

Andreescu, who has been struggling to regain her form after almost 11/2 years on the sidelines because of injury, is hopeful of improving once she is fitter.

"I just have to put the pieces together. Hasn't really been like that the past couple of tournaments but I know I'm going to get there, and I'm super excited for that," the 21-year-old said after her third early elimination in as many Majors this year.

She bowed out of the Australian Open in the second round and lost in the first round at Roland Garros.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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WIMBLEDON

Day 4: Singtel TV Ch114/116 & StarHub Ch208/210, 6pm

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SELECTED RESULTS

MEN'S SINGLES

Nick Kyrgios (Aus) bt Ugo Humbert (Fra) 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-1 9-7, Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) bt Fernando Verdasco (Esp) 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4, Denis Shapovalov (Can) bt Pablo Andujar (Esp) - walkover, Matteo Berrettini (Ita) bt Guido Pella (Arg) 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-0, Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn) bt John Isner (USA) 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-4, Kei Nishikori (Jpn) bt Alexei Popyrin (Aus) 6-4 6-4 6-4, Sam Querrey (USA) bt Pablo Carreno-Busta (Esp) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 7-5, Marin Cilic (Cro) bt Salvatore Caruso (Ita) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) 6-1.

Elina Svitolina (Ukr) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (Bel) 6-3 2-6 6-3, Paula Badosa (Esp) bt Aliona Bolsova (Esp) 6-2 5-7 6-2, Kristyna Pliskova (Cze) bt Astra Sharma (Aus) 3-6 6-4 6-4, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) bt Ana Bogdan (Rom) 6-2 6-2, Marketa Vondrousova (Cze) bt Anett Kontaveit (Est) 2-6 6-4 6-2.