Djokovic advances despite injury
Serbia’s 2011 Wimbledon champion reaches the last-16 but injures his shoulder during the straight-sets win.
Rolling around in pain clutching his left shoulder, Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon hopes looked in serious jeopardy against Gilles Simon on Centre Court but he recovered to win 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 and reach the last-16.
Leading 3-2 in the third set the Serb was closing in on an uneventful victory against his French opponent when he stumbled and dived to reach a forehand, crashing heavily to the turf.
With the 2011 champion apparently in extreme pain and with concerned coach Boris Becker watching on, it looked as though Djokovic might not be able to continue but after walking to his chair where a trainer manipulated his shoulder, he carried on.
Despite looking a little tentative, he showed no obvious signs of discomfort and finished the job with a smash.
Djokovic will now get the weekend to recover from his fall before playing 14th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the fourth round.
Other results (selected):
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat Jimmy Wang (Taiwan) 6-2, 6-2, 7-5
Kevin Anderson (South Africa) beat Fabio Fognini (Italy) 4-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1