Wimbledon video highlights: Djokovic and Gulbis set up third round showdown, Rybarikova upsets Pliskova

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  • Novak Djokovic and Ernests Gulbis claimed victories on Thursday to set up a third round Wimbledon showdown.

    Djokovic eased past Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 while Gulbis, a former top-10 player who is now ranked 589 after a long injury layoff, upset No29 seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

    Gulbis didn’t play a match between June last year and February 2017 as he struggled with a wrist problem. The Latvian, who has never made it past the third round at Wimbledon, then tore a calf muscle ahead of Roland Garros two months ago and tore an abdominal muscle ahead of the action at the All England Club.

    He came to Wimbledon with little to no preparation but has managed to reach the third round thanks to a serving masterclass he displayed against Del Potro (he hit 25 aces, saved two of the three break points he faced, and won 82 per cent of the points on his first serve).

    Gulbis’ first round win on Tuesday was his first tour-level main draw victory in 13 months.

    “I played really, really great tennis. I served well, I returned well. In my opinion, Del Potro is one of the best players. I mean, for sure he has one of the best forehands. He’s really tough to beat,” said the 28-year-old Gulbis.

    “I was happy that in the third set, even that I got a little bit maybe tight and he played well when he broke me back in the third set, I still managed to win in the tiebreak.”

    Gulbis, who knew Djokovic since they were young training at the Niki Pilic academy in Munich, attributes his success this week to his state of mind.

    “I was very relaxed. Didn’t really surprise me (playing well against Del Potro) because I’m just in a relaxed state of mind right now coming into this tournament,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Wimbledon title favourite Karolina Pliskova crashed to a shock second round defeat against world number 108 Magdalena Rybarikova.

    Rybarikova battled back from a set down to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Centre Court, earning the Slovakian a last 32 clash with Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

    Pliskova reached the US Open last year and the French Open semi-finals last month, but the Czech world number three has a dismal record at Wimbledon and for the sixth successive year she failed to get past the second round.

    Despite her defeat, Pliskova could still be world number one by the end of the tournament, depending on the how far Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep progress.

    “For the first two seeded girls, Angie and Simona, they have also some tough draws,” Pliskova said. “But for me, the tournament is over. So whatever happens happens. I’m not going to pray for somebody losing or winning. That’s not my thing.”

    Asked what causes her Wimbledon woes, Pliskova admitted she still finds it hard to adapt to the grass courts.

    “You have to get used to it. It’s different, tennis here. You cannot compare to clay or hard courts,” she said. “The jump from the ball is always different. It doesn’t go high. You have to bend your knees, which is always trouble for me.

    “There are few other things which I really don’t like on grass. Probably something in the air here! Obviously it’s disappointing. I don’t think I played bad. I’m just waiting for one or two good matches here in a row.”

    It is only the second time Rybarikova has reached the last 32 at Wimbledon in 10 main draw appearances.

    “I didn’t think ‘I’m going to lose this match’, but I was not that confident. I’m speechless right now and I’m so happy,” said Rybarikova who has a 15-1 record on grass this season. “It’s an amazing feeling. It’s special. I had two surgeries and I haven’t played for seven months and right now I’m in the third round at Wimbledon.”

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