Wimbledon: Djokovic Ends Adrian Defeat in Second Day

He had to wait a good 18 hours longer than he might have expected to play this match, but Novak Djokovic still wasted little time in dispatching Adrian Mannarino when the All England Club finally allowed him to grace Centre Court again.

It was far from a smooth passage to the quarter-finals for the three-time champion, who will now face Tomas Berdych on Wednesday, yet he still managed to wrap up proceedings in 2hrs 15minutes without dropping a set.

Djokovic was pegged back to a tiebreak in the second set, needed a medical time-out for treatment on his right shoulder – as well as taking a pill – in the third and then hit out at the poor state of the grass on Centre Court.

Novak Djokovic defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-2 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon last eight

The Serb lets out a roar after winning a point during his straight sets success on Centre Court

Djokovic, the No 2 seed at Wimbledon this year, reaches for a return during the contest

Djokovic shakes the hand of Adrian Mannarino following the conclusion of their match

His opponent, world No 51 Mannarino from France, kept him guessing with plenty of deft, varied and entertaining – if sometimes erratic – play, but this was, overall, a successful outing for Djokovic.

He told the BBC: ‘I haven’t dropped a set yet in a grass court event, both at Eastbourne and here at Wimbledon, and I’ve been feeling very good on the court.

‘I’m really motivated to get as far as I can in this tournament. It’s one of my favourite tournaments.

‘My shoulder? We’ll see. It’s been something I’ve been dragging back and forth for a while but I’m still managing to play. There are no clear favorites and I’m just trying to do my best.

‘During the match, I mentioned there is a hole in the middle of the court. The chair umpire just asked me to show him and I did. He was not very pleased to see that.

‘The courts, honestly, are not that great and many players are feeling the same. The weather affects the courts. The groundsmen are the best in the world and it’s not easy, but I’ve played on better courts.’

Mannarino ducks down to make a return during his fourth round defeat to Djokovic

The Serbian had spent Monday night hanging around in the referees’ office while Centre Court lay vacant and Gilles Muller finally finished off Rafael Nadal on Court No1.

Wimbledon apparently feared a stampede if they deigned to move Djokovic’s last-16 clash to Centre Court, but they did not have to worry on Tuesday.

There were a grand total of eight people in the Royal Box to see Djokovic warm up against Mannarino just after 12noon, and big swathes of empty green seats under the roof on Centre Court, even though the drizzle was threatening matches on the outside courts.

So much for the pull of the ‘Big Four’ in the men’s game.