Djokovic beats darkness to reach quarter-finals

[July 10, 2018]    LONDON (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic was kept waiting in the wings till after 7pm local time before he could start swinging his racket against Russia's Karen Khachanov at Wimbledon on Monday.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the fourth round match against Russia's Karen Khachanov REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

But there was no stopping the Serb once he made it on to Court One as he romped to a 6-4 6-2 6-2 win to reach the quarter-finals for a 10th time.

With Kevin Anderson taking almost 3-1/2 hours to tame French showman Gael Monfils in the previous match, Djokovic knew he had about two hours of daylight left if he wanted to avoid coming back on Tuesday's rest day to finish off the contest.

The 12th seed timed the conclusion almost to perfection, sealing victory at 8.50pm on his third match point after Khachanov dumped a tired backhand into the net to end a 20-stroke rally.

Djokovic, winner of three singles titles at the All England Club, will next meet Japan's 24th seed Kei Nishikori.

(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar; Editing by Ken Ferris)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.