'Happy and joyful' Novak Djokovic beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to make Wimbledon's third round despite Centre Court wonder shot from Greek

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Novak Djokovic comfortably beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to move into the third round at Wimbledon, the seven-time Wimbledon champion untroubled by his Greek opponent in the late match on Centre Court.

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A very "satisfied" Djokovic made relatively quick work of his opponent, Tsitsipas unable to live with the 24-time major champion under the Centre Court roof.

The Serbian led their head-to-head 12-2 going into the match, with the world No. 87, having fallen from a high of No. 3, last beating Djokovic all the way back in 2019.

As such, many expected Djokovic to win comfortably, and that is exactly what he did in just over an hour and a half, winning 6-3 6-4 6-2 to progress at Wimbledon.

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"Obviously, you feel very satisfied, happy and joyful on the court, when you are playing this way," Djokovic explained in his on-court interview.

"Once you get the momentum going, two sets up, break up, that game where I went 5-2 up was one of the best return games I’ve played in a while. I just went for my shots, obviously a bit more relaxed, a bit less tension in my head."

Having been scheduled twice in the evening, and playing under the roof to combat bad light, Djokovic could even joke that he was "looking forward to an outdoor [match]" in the next round.

Djokovic had to work hard in his opening round match against Yibing Wu, having been taken to four sets in a match lasting just over three hours.

But that was not the case against Tsitsipas, as Djokovic settled any nerves with an early break of serve, and he did not give the Greek player any real chances as he took the opening set in just 27 minutes.

The second set started more positively for Tsitsipas, who hit a stunning forehand around the edge of the net post, clipping the woodwork to bring the subdued crowd into the match, and earning himself some sporting applause from Djokovic.

It was an early contender for shot of the tournament, with replays showing it did indeed just brush the outside edge of the net post, Tsitsipas whipping it round to land just inside the baseline.

But he could not build on that moment, Djokovic immediately wrestling momentum back with a series of aces and unreturnable serves.

There was some concern when Djokovic started to stretch out his legs midway through the second set, and then slipped and fell, but it did not derail him, as he broke at 4-4 and rolled on to take the second set 6-4.

One of the hardest things for Djokovic to overcome was trimming some awkward sports tape on his shoulder, for which he enlisted the help of a ball kid.

He trusted her with a pair of scissors, and was relaxed enough to joke around and pretend she had cut him, much to the amusement of the crowd.

Laughing and joking aside, it was more of the same from Djokovic in the third set, as Tsitsipas looked out of ideas of how to break down his opponent’s defence.

He was playing better, but Djokovic was serving too well to give Tsitsipas many returns, with rallies few and far between in the Serbian’s service games.

In the end, Djokovic closed out the match in one hour 38 minutes, breaking again with an incredible return game at 4-2 to get the fans on their feet once more.

"I feel great. I’ve said this so many times before, I try not to take this moment for granted. Playing on the Centre Court, at my childhood dream tournament. I feel very privileged," Djokovic concluded at the end of a decent night's work.

Djokovic will play 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech in the third round.

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