Novak Djokovic quietly slips into 4th round at Wimbledon

Djokovic reaches 4th round at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England — It’s as if Novak Djokovic played his matches in the middle of the night up the road in East Dulwich, rather than in sunshine on the world’s most famous tennis court, as was the case with his most recent victory.

The No. 4-seeded player at Wimbledon has advanced to the tournament’s second week without fanfare. He doesn’t mind one bit.

“I realize the situation that I am in right now,” Djokovic said. “Andy Murray and Roger Federer are in the spotlight, and obviously they deserve to be in that situation, because they have been playing great tennis the last six, seven months.

“But you have to look from the brighter side. I think it’s good. It kind of releases the pressure for me.”

Djokovic said he played his best match of the week Friday, when he beat American Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. In the round of 16 Monday, Djokovic will face unseeded Dudi Sela, the first Israeli man in 20 years to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round.

Sela beat No. 15 Tommy Robredo 7-6 (8), 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.

As the first half of the fortnight winds down, most of the attention remains on Murray, seeking to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, and five-time champion Federer. They’re on course to meet in the final, with big-serving American Andy Roddick considered the next-strongest title contender.

Federer advanced by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1. Murray and Roddick had third-round matches scheduled for Saturday.

As for Djokovic: Fish said the Serb is capable of a run at the championship.

“He seems to be kind of going along quietly,” Fish said. “He’s not making too much noise out there — kind of letting everyone talk about Roger and Andy, and the other Andy, kind of going about his business.”

Djokovic was a Wimbledon semifinalist at age 20 in 2007, then won the Australian Open the following year. He has 13 career titles, two this year, and while he has never won a grass-court tournament, he was the runner-up at a Wimbledon warmup tournament in Germany two weeks ago.

He was in fine form against Fish, constantly pressuring with his return while facing only one break point.

“If I play like today, I think I have a good chance to get far in the second week,” Djokovic said. “If I perform like that, there is no reason to underestimate me.”

Four matches in the women’s round of 16 Monday are set. Two-time champion Serena Williams will face Daniela Hantuchova; No. 4-seeded Elena Dementieva will play Elena Vesnina in an all-Russian matchup; No. 8-seeded Victoria Azarenka will take on No. 10 Nadia Petrova; and Francesca Schiavone will play Virginie Razzano.

Williams won for the 172nd time in 200 Grand Slam matches by beating Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4. Schiavone advanced by winning 7-6 (5), 6-0 against No. 12 Marion Bartoli, the runner-up in 2007. Petrova won 6-3, 6-4 against Gisela Dulko, who upset Maria Sharapova in the second round.

On the men’s side, Federer will face No. 13 Robin Soderling on Monday, and No. 7 Fernando Verdasco will play No. 22 Ivo Karlovic. Soderling, who lost to Federer this month in the French Open final, advanced by beating No. 7 Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4.

Federer could face Djokovic in the semifinals. If that happens, Djokovic will be under the radar no more.

Until then, he is happy to leave the British tabloid headlines to others.

“It’s all about mind-set I think when you get to these stages of the tournament,” Djokovic said. “I feel quite OK that people are not talking about me too often, which gives me a freedom to perform the best tennis I can.”