26 Jun 2014

Djokovic lives to fight another day

7:01 am on 26 June 2014

Top seed Novak Djokovic showed that Wimbledon was no place for a 35-year-old warrior as he beat battle-scarred Czech Radek Stepanek 6-4 6-3 6-7(5) 7-6(5) in a hugely entertaining contest to reach the third round of tennis' oldest grand slam.

Bidding to become the oldest man to reach the third round at the All England Club since 2007, Stepanek tried practically every shot known to mankind, and then some, as he tried to topple the world number two.

His lunging forehands drew wild applause, his silky volleys had the purists purring and his crowd-pleasing shot-selection left fans hollering but all Stepanek had to show for his efforts was a bloodied right knee and the memories of a standing ovation.

By dousing the antics of a man who entertained Wimbledon for more than 3-1/4 hours, Djokovic set up a third round meeting with Frenchman Gilles Simon.