Wimbledon: Djokovic cruises, Federer wins despite back scare

Defending champion Novak Djokovic had little trouble advancing to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, beating fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 Monday underneath the roof on Centre Court. While rain washed out play on all other courts at the All England Club, Djokovic dispatched Troicki in just 90 minutes by breaking his friend and compatriot six times. Djokovic won 16 of his 19 approaches to the net and hit 31 winners overall, compared to 15 for Troicki. [caption id=“attachment_364705” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“While rain washed out play on all other courts at the All England Club, Djokovic dispatched Troicki in just 90 minutes. AP”]  [/caption] The top-ranked Djokovic will next face the winner of Richard Gasquet and Florian Mayer, whose match was among those suspended for the day because of persistent rain at the All England Club. Troicki has now lost his last 12 matches against Djokovic. Meanwhile, Roger Federer had to stave off a comeback rather than make one, holding off Xavier Malisse in four sets to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Federer struggled with a back problem in the first set and left Centre Court for a medical timeout of more than eight minutes when leading 4-3, but came back to secure a 7-6 (1), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over the Belgian. Federer said he thought he was in trouble at first but that the back started feeling better as the match went on. Still, he was down 2-0 in the fourth set as Malisse threatened a comeback but he recovered to win the next five games. In the third round, the six-time champion rallied from two sets down to beat Julien Benneteau. AP