Novak Djokovic
IN PHOTO: Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts to breaking serve during his match against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, July 1, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville REUTERS/Toby Melville

Defending champion Novak Djokovic will meet Australian Bernard Tomic in the third round of the 2015 Wimbledon. Top seed Djokovic eased past Finnish Jarkko Nieminen 6-4 6-2 6-3, while Tomic crushed Frenchman qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6 6-4 7-6 to move on to the next round.

Djokovic, who did not take part in any lead-up grass events after he was denied a French Open crown by Stan Wawrinka in June, earned straight sets win over Nieminen in one hour and 32 minutes to reach the third round. After falling behind 1-3 to the Finnish in the first set, Djokovic managed to regroup and converted five break points opportunities to seal the victory.

The Serbian has only lost once in the second round at SW19. That was in 2008 against Russian Marat Saffin. Since then, Djokovic has had great results in the grand slam event including winning the title twice (2011 and 2014) and a runner-up finish (2013). The World No. 1 is looking to add a third Wimbledon trophy to his growing list of tennis’ accolades, which would equal his coach Boris Becker’s Wimbledon wins.

Ahead of his Tomic clash, Djokovic said that he anticipates a tough game. “He's got a lot of talent in his hands,” the Serb was quoted via ATPWorldTour.com. “This is the surface that he loves playing the most on, so it's going to be a difficult match."

Meanwhile, Tomic battled past the Herbert to book a clash with Djokovic. It will be a repeat of their quarterfinal at SW19 in 2011, where the Serbian had won. Seeded 27th, Tomic won all sets against Herbert even though the Frenchman downed him 1-4 in the third set. The Australian had a 72 first-serve percentage compared to Herbert’s 54. He scored 37 winners and only 12 unforced errors during the match.

The third round match will be the second time that Djokovic and Tomic will meet this season. Their last meeting took place at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event, where Djokovic extended his streak 3-0 after the Australian was forced to pull out due to a back injury. The winner will face either Argentine Leonardo Mayer or Kevin Anderson in the fourth round.

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