Looking to be the first man to a defend the title at SW19 since Roger Federer in 2007, Novak Djokovic continued his march towards the final with a straight sets win over Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. In just over an hour and a half, Djokovic recovered from an early break to defeat his opponent 6-4 6-2 6-3.

Djokovic recovers from a tough start

Fresh from defeating Lleyton Hewitt in his final ever appearance at the All England Club, Jarkko Nieminen headed into the appearance on centre court knowing it may very well have been his own swansong.

With this in mind, he appeared to play with the ease of a man determined to go out in style, as he very early began to assert himself in the match and after holding his opening game, put Djokovic on the backfoot in the Serb's opener. In a game that went back and fourth, Nieminen eventually broke down Djokovic and claimed the early ascendency.

But the early running was to be only short-lived and very soon it was business as usual for Djokovic. He may have failed to assert his dominance in his first round match, but pretty soon, after snatching back the break, he stepped it up a gera and never looked back.

Djokovic barely breaks a sweat

In truth, the match turned out to be what many had expected. Nieminen had endured a slog against Hewitt and began to look tired as the match wore on.

Not that it did for much longer, with Djokovic securing breaks early in the remaining two sets to stroll to victory. But it is as much a measure of the man as it is the player when in his post-match interview, his opponent was the first man on his lips.

'It is Jarkko Nieminen's last Wimbledon. I congratulated him for a terrific career. He is a very nice guy, one of the nicest and a fighter on the court, it was a pleasure to be the last one to play him at Wimbledon' he told the BBC.

Niminem announced he will reitre after this year's Stockholm Open

Nieminen bows out from SW19 and his final year on tour as a worthy opponent for any player. He will reitre as the most succesful Finn ever and one of the nicest men ever to grace the lawns of the All England Club.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jack Haugh
Freelance sports writer, specialising in tennis.