Novak Djokovic has made the third round at Wimbledon for the 19th time, following his win over Dan Evans on Centre Court.
To claim his 99th victory at the All England Club, Djokovic dominated Evans in straight sets and will now face Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic in the next round.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is aiming for a record-breaking 25th major crown this year, and an eighth Wimbledon title, which would see him match Roger Federer‘s tally.
His longevity in tennis is unmatched, and having been on the tour for over two decades, Djokovic says there’s something very different about today’s game compared to earlier in his career.
Novak Djokovic states the ‘biggest change’ in tennis over the last decade
In his press conference following the match against Evans, Djokovic said: “That is probably the biggest difference I can notice compared to maybe 10 or 15 years ago, it’s the balls.
“The Slazenger balls used here at Wimbledon are good quality balls, but they do fluff up sooner than the ones used 10 or 15 years ago.
“I don’t know if it’s related to the manufacturing facility or the production of the balls that changed.
“I don’t think it’s the grass, I think there is consistency with the way Wimbledon prepares grass courts, so I would doubt there are any big changes there. I think it’s just balls that are slowing the game down to some extent.
“It’s allowing the players whose game is based on the baseline and play with a lot of spin to play good tennis and make good success at Wimbledon or other grass court tournaments, which wasn’t maybe the case any more.
“Still, grass remains the fastest surface in our sport; you still get quite a few free points on the first serve if you are serving well.
“You still get rewarded. But it is true that it’s easier to play from the baseline nowadays than was the case earlier in my career.”
Novak Djokovic’s dominance against home players at majors
In his triumph over Evans, Djokovic has extended his record against home players at Grand Slams to 35-1.
His sole loss was at Wimbledon in 2013, where Andy Murray defeated him to end the 77-year-long British drought at the All England Club.
Murray won the match in straight sets against Djokovic, in what was the Briton’s second consecutive appearance in the final of the tournament.
He had lost the championship match the year before to Federer, who claimed his seventh Wimbledon title in 2012.
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