Wimbledon 2021: Novak Djokovic defeats Denis Kudla in straight sets to reach fourth round

Last update on. From the section TennisWimbledon 2021 at the BBC Dates: All England Club: 28 June-11 Jul Coverage: Live on BBC TV, Radio and Online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer and Red Button, Connected TVs, and mobile app. You can find more details hereNovak Djokovic believes his "wolf energy", which helped him beat Denis Kudla, has brought him one step closer in his quest to retain his Wimbledon title.To reach the fourth round of the tournament, the Serbian world number 1 won 6-4 6-3 7-6 (9-7), where he will face Cristian Garin.Kudla, an American qualifier and a strong grass-court player had a 4-1 advantage in the third set tie-break, but lost his lead.Djokovic credits his upbringing with his fighting and animalistic instincts.He said that "Part of it" was genes, his family, and the way he grew up during difficult times for his country in the 1990s."Failure was never an option to me or my family. We had to find a way for us to cover our basic necessities to survive."I spent a lot time in the mountains and this is wolf-energy there. "I am not lying."He said, "I must give credit to Denis because he played really well."The third set was close. "The third set was very close. He is a great guy off the court. We get along really well, and I wish him the best.He played an excellent three sets today. Although he was unlucky in tie-break, he was ahead for most of the match. "I somehow found the way out to win."Djokovic, who is chasing a record-breaking 20th major, is now the first man in history to win at least 75 matches across all four Grand Slams.Andrey Rublev, the fifth Russian seed, took almost three hours to beat Fabio Fognini in Italy.Rublev won 6-3, 5-7,6-4 6-2 to reach Wimbledon's fourth round. He will next play Marton Fucsovics from Hungary after he beat Diego Schwartzman, the ninth seed.Rublev is one among two Russians who reached the fourth round. Karen Khachanov was also successful with a 6-3,6-4,6-4 win over Frances Tiafoe.Roberto Bautista Agut was a semi-finalist in SW19 2019. He defeated Dominik Koepfer to win 7-5 6-1 7-6 (7-4).He will be playing the winner of Friday's Centre Court match between Andy Murray (10th seed) and Denis Shapovalov (10th seed).After his victory over Pedro Martinez, Spain in four sets, Djokovic will face Garin (17th seed). This is Djokovic’s first trip to the Wimbledon fourth round.Fernando Gonzalez was the last Chilean to reach this stage in 2005. He reached the quarter-finals.