Djokovic shocker as Federer eases into fourth round

Persistent rain could not dampen the excitement in the men’s draw at Wimbledon as Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro were notable winners and Novak Djokovic ended Friday on the brink of a major upset.

World number one Djokovic will return to court on Saturday 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 down to Sam Querrey after the American produced a superb display on Court One.

There were no such troubles for Roger Federer, who vanquished another local talent in the form of Dan Evans in straight sets, while Del Potro stunned fourth seed Stan Wawrinka in an emotional encounter.

QUERREY LEAVES DJOKOVIC SHELLSHOCKED

Top seed Djokovic was undoubtedly poor on Court One, but Querrey was magnificent in taking full advantage.

The American won his first three service games to love and showed great variety to back up a typical booming serve.

Djokovic’s last trip to Court One was last year’s clash against Kevin Anderson, who also went up two sets to love.

He salvaged a win on that occasion, when the match also spilled over two days, although he had brought the encounter back to 2-2 against the South African. The prospect of coming back tomorrow and reeling off three sets is far from beyond the top seed, but is daunting against an opponent in form nevertheless.

FABULOUS FEDERER ENDS EVANS RUN

Home hopes have been almost single-handedly extinguished by Federer this year, with Evans going the way of Marcus Willis in the previous round and suffering a straight-sets defeat to the Swiss master.

Federer took less than 90 minutes to dismantle the world number 91, who had impressed in a straight-sets win over Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second round.

“It was good,” Evans said. “A bit surreal actually seeing him down the other end. It was tough to just get used to. I mean, so many people.

“It was very different to what I am used to.

“It was just an amazing experience just to play him. I don’t think I played too bad, I just didn’t serve very well. I enjoyed it.”

DEL POTRO ROLLS BACK THE CLOCK

Playing his first slam since 2014, Del Potro was magnificent in defeating Wawrinka 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 on Centre Court.

Wrist injuries have wrecked the Argentinian’s career in recent years, indeed many believe the former US Open champion would have been a challenger to the likes of Federer, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray had he stayed fit.

Though naturally disappointed in defeat, Wawrinka hinted at Del Potro’s popularity in a magnanimous post-match news conference.

“It’s great for tennis to see him back. He’s a great guy, a really good player, big champion.”

After playing on the hallowed Centre Court turf for the first time in 1,092 days, Del Potro was ecstatic.

“It was great. I mean, the last time I was on Centre Court was against Djokovic, in that amazing semi-final, which I lost. Now I came again.

“The crowd was unbelievable with me. The atmosphere on there was amazing. They have respect for me.

“It’s very nice just to be on the Centre Court of this magnificent tournament.”

TANTRUMS, SWEARING AND STUNNERS – CLASSIC KYRGIOS

Both Dustin Brown and Nick Kyrgios had plenty to say during their five-set thriller – which the Australian won 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 2-6 6-4 6-4.

Kyrgios seemed to strop through a string of games in the third set as he ceded several points to Brown, having rowed with the umpire during the set.

He swiftly recovered though, as two of the sport’s most entertaining stroke-makers served up an eye-catching contest – spread over more than eight hours thanks to the rain.

“I thought my behaviour was really good throughout the match. Obviously went a little bit off track towards the third,” Kyrgios said.

“At the same time, I thought it was okay, to be honest. The crowd was loving it. I’m sure a lot of people around the world were watching that match. That’s what sport is. It’s entertainment, isn’t it?”