Novak Djokovic defeated Arthur Rinderknech, 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, in the third round of Wimbledon.
The Serb looked to be heading towards a comfortable straight-sets victory on Centre Court when Rinderknech suddenly upped his level, threatening to become the first player to win a 6-0 set against Djokovic on grass.
Djokovic picked up a game to save himself from embarrassment, and despite losing the third set to Rinderknech 6-1, recovered to win the fourth set in a tiebreaker, securing his spot in the last 16.
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During his post-match press conference, Djokovic shared what the Frenchman did that surprised him during their Wimbledon clash.
Novak Djokovic was surprised by Arthur Rinderknech’s tendency to serve and volley
During his post-match press conference, Djokovic shared his thoughts on Rinderknech’s game.
“He was coming in, actually, quite a few times on his second serve, come to the net, serve and volley, which is surprising,” he said.
“He has played some terrific volleys that are really outstanding, honestly.
“He’s really, really crafty. He’s really skilful all over the court.
“Tough, tough player to face in the third round.”
Novak Djokovic vs Arthur Rinderknech – Match stats
| Stats | Novak Djokovic | Arthur Rinderknech |
| Aces | 15 | 21 |
| Double faults | 3 | 4 |
| 1st Serve % | 68% | 63% |
| Win % on 1st Serve | 73% | 81% |
| Win % on 2nd Serve | 73% | 71% |
| Break points | 3/9 | 3/5 |
Djokovic was full of praise for the tall Frenchman, who impressed on his second Centre Court outing at Wimbledon.
“His variety was challenging for me, because we don’t have too many players that are comfortable playing, I guess equally well inside of the court, at the net, and also behind the baseline. He’s quite an all-around player,” said Djokovic.
Considering his height, he moves well. He’s got some interesting chip shots, from slices with the defence, the forehand, and the backhand.
“Obviously huge serve. He tosses it; he’s a very tall guy, and he tosses it forward. He hits a 133 miles per hour serve. I haven’t even returned the serve, and he’s already at the net.
Arthur Rinderknech’s serving stats (Last 52 weeks)
- Serve Rating – 286.3 (14th on ATP Tour)
- 1st Serve % – 63.3% (39th on ATP Tour)
- Win % on 1st Serve – 76.1% (16th on ATP Tour)
- Win % on 2nd Serve – 51.9% (34th on ATP Tour)
- Service games win % – 87.3% (11th on ATP Tour)
- Average aces per match – 10.9 (5th on ATP Tour)
“It’s quite intimidating when you have somebody that big, serves big, comes to the net. He tries to take away the time from your shots. He tries to put you out of your comfort zone.
“He’s done well today with his tactics, no doubt.
“It was tough, just a really tough match for me to play and a tough player for me to face.
“There were quite a few points that were cat-and-mouse types of exchanges, but I expected that.
“You could see already in the beginning, like, right from the start, he played some dropshots in points where I was a sitting duck, in a sense, forehand in the middle of the court, where 99% of the players would maybe go for the winner and come to the net. He would be playing a dropshot.
“Then he comes in, then he pulls back. He has a variety on his first serve, second serve.”
Djokovic defeated the talented 25th seed in four sets to book his place in the last 16
There, he will play Russia’s Roman Safiullin.
Novak Djokovic received boost to his Wimbledon title chances before playing Arthur Rinderknech
Many fans expected Djokovic to meet the teenage sensation, Joao Fonseca, in the fourth round.
Fonseca stunned Djokovic from two sets to love down at last month’s French Open, and would have surely felt confident ahead of a rematch on grass.
However, in one of the most surprising results of the third round, Fonseca lost to the qualifier, Safiullin, in straight sets.
And with all due respect to the 28-year-old, he doesn’t pose quite the same threat to Djokovic as Fonseca would have done.
Djokovic has played Safiullin three times previously, winning all three matches in straight sets.
Unless something extraordinary happens, the Serb should extend that head-to-head record to 4-0, and secure his place in the quarter-finals, where he would meet Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Felix Auger-Aliassime, or Michael Zheng.
Djokovic will play Safiullin in the fourth round on Sunday, July 5.
