Wimbledon Day 4: Pliskova stunned, Djokovic dominates

Hot and sweaty. The sun shone bright yet again on Day 4 of Wimbledon, the SW19 crowd drinking in the heat and coiffing down the Pimms. Oh, and there was a little bit of tennis action too…

The men: Djokovic shifting through the gears

There was something ominous about the way Novak Djokovic dispatched Adam Pavlasek on Court 1. After a year of abject form (by his own lofty standards), this was the Novak of old. Swinging from the hip, Djokovic overwhelmed his opponent during the 6-2 6-2 6-1 masterclass.

“It’s perfect. Exactly what I want,” Djokovic smiled after the match. “I don’t want to have any five-set matches. I had enough match play in Eastbourne.”

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Later on Thursday, completing the order of play on Centre Court, Roger Federer was challenged early by Serbian Dusan Lajovic before asserting himself to complete a straight-sets victory.

Federer was broken to fall behind 2-0 but after dominating the ensuing tiebreak ran through the next two sets in just 54 minutes to complete a 7-6(0) 6-3 6-2 win that entranced the crowd.

“I think I just struggled early on. I was feeling nerves for some reason. Not sure why. But I was able to come back in the set breaking at 2-0. I think it was big for me,” Federer said.

When Juan Martin del Potro dropped the first set against Ernests Gulbis a few people raised an eyebrow. When he dropped the second a few more frowned. When he was dispatched 6-4 6-4 7-6(3) by the fiery Latvian, Wimbledon was slightly agog. Gulbis, who is an uncomfortable opponent for any player, has now won two Tour-level matches in a row – the first time he has done that in over a year.

Elsewhere, Dominic Thiem fought back against a resilient Gilles Simon, winning 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-4; Grigor Dimitrov was in outstanding form against Marcos Baghdatis, winning 6-3 6-2 6-1; Dudi Sela was a surprise winner against John Isner, coming through 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 5-7 7-6(5) 6-3; and Gael Monfils downed Kyle Edmund 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4.

The women: Pliskova stunned

Listen to almost any pundit and the consensus was clear: Karolina Pliskova was the presumptive Wimbledon champion. Unfortunately (for her) Magdalena Rybarikova hadn’t read that bit of the script. The tenacious Slovakian downed the No.3 seed 3-6 7-5 6-2 in a two hour, 18 minute match on a sweltering Centre Court.

“I’m speechless – it’s an amazing feeling right now,” an emotional Rybarikova said. “I had two surgeries and haven’t played for seven months. I’ve just beaten Karolina Pliskova. That is absolutely amazing.”

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World No.1 Angelique Kerber and fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki late on Thursday survived tough second-round tests against grasscourt guns in the form of Kirsten Flipkens and Tsvetana Pironkova.

Kerber subdued 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Flipkens 7-5 7-5 and will next face Shelby Rogers while Wozniacki beat Pironkova, a semifinalist at SW19 in 2010, 6-3 6-4.

“I think it was not an easy match … Kirsten is always tough to play because she plays good on grass with the slice,” Kerber said.

“I couldn’t find my rhythm in the first few games, but then I was trying to move good and playing the ball back. It was for sure maybe not the best tennis that I played, but I was trying to fight again for every point, and I think that was the key at the end.”

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Elsewhere, a raft of big names moved quietly and confidently through the draw. Svetlana Kuznetsova was a 6-0 7-5 winner over Ekaterina Makarova; 14th seed Garbine Muguruza was a 6-2 6-4 winner against Yanina Wickmayer; and Agnieszka Radwanska won an epic battle with Christina McHale 5-7 7-6(7) 6-3 after saving two match points in the second-set tiebreak.