(Wimbledon) The rain again disrupted the course of the third day of Wimbledon, but not the progress of Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic who easily qualified for the third round on Wednesday.
Credit where credit is due, the world No. 1 and man with 23 Grand Slam titles are among the few players to enjoy the comfort of covered courts in their first two matches and have taken full advantage of it to reach the third round in the right tempo.
Because many of their opponents have been forced, or will be, to play two games in two days because of the rain.
Swiatek made short work of Spaniard Sara Sorribes (84th) and inflicted one of her famous bagels in the second set of a match won 6-2, 6-0 in 1 hour 10.
“I wanted to be patient, surprisingly commented the Pole. I really used my power and I think I had a very good game. »
“I’m happy that my two matches were scheduled under the roof, because I was sure to play […] It’s more comfortable, we are in the rhythm of a Grand Slam tournament with a day of competition and a day off,” she acknowledged.
In the next round, Swiatek will face the French Diane Parry (96th) or the Croatian Petra Martic (29th) whose meeting could not be held on Wednesday.
Later, it was Novak Djokovic (2nd) who obtained his ticket for the third round by dismissing the Australian Jordan Thompson (70th) without trembling 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to face him so soon,” said Djokovic who, as usual, increases in power as the laps go by.
Despite his words, he was not frankly put in danger even if, after having left only two points and having managed four shutouts on his serve in the first set, Djokovic got a little more hooked in the next two rounds.
However, there is still a victory in three rounds, clear and flawless, without the slightest break point to defend.
He will face for a 31st victory in a row on the London lawn and a place in the round of 16 the Swiss Stan Wawrinka (88th), quarter-finalist in 2014 and 2015, or the Argentinian Tomas Etcheverry (32nd).
Daniil Medvedev had more time than expected to gamble on the reception he was going to receive, he the Russian who was banned from the tournament last year in response to the invasion of Ukraine by his country’s troops , since he played his first game on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.
But it was in a favorable atmosphere – which “surprised him”, he said – that the third player in the world won quietly against the Briton of French origin Arthur Féry (391st) 7-5, 6-4, 6-3.
“For different reasons, the reception could have been much less good,” he commented, explaining that he took a long time to understand that part of the support was intended for him when the players entered the court.
Medvedev, winner of the US Open in 2021 and runner-up at the Australian Open in 2021 and 2022, has never made it past the knockout stages at Wimbledon.
He will face the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (35th) in the second round.
Several other first-round matches that had fallen behind were played: Holger Rune (6th) won her first match at Wimbledon, while in women Maria Sakkari (8th) was eliminated from the start.
Rain has been disrupting the tournament since Monday. After a second day, Tuesday, totally drowned in the downpours, the third was jerky: having started an hour and a half late, it was interrupted twice.
So much so that 21 matches were postponed to Thursday: 16 from the second round and five from the first (Zverev-Brouwer, Davidovich-Fils and Zhang-Van de Zandschulp for men, Bondar-Andreescu and Bouzas-Kalinina for women).
In addition, three environmental activists from the group Just Stop Oil disrupted two matches on court 18, entering the field to throw confetti and puzzle pieces.
They were arrested, charged with “aggravated trespass and criminal damage”, police said.