Novak Djokovic took the express route into the Wimbledon fourth round as the world number one thrashed French 28th seed Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-2 6-2 on Saturday.
Djokovic, who plays German 13th seed Tommy Haas for a place in the quarter-finals, has now won 50 times on grass, but few of the preceding 49 victories can have been as emphatic as this.
“I felt very confident stepping onto the court but it’s never easy against Chardy, he’s a quality player,” said Djokovic.
The Serb played a flawless first two sets without a single unforced error, and eventually hit 38 winners and served eight aces in one hour and 26 minutes of total dominance on Centre Court.
While several of Djokovic’s title rivals have fallen foul of the shock defeats and injury withdrawals that have rocked Wimbledon, the 26-year-old has progressed serenely into the last 16 without dropping a set.
Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal suffered stunning losses at the hands of unheralded opponents in the other half of the draw, leaving Djokovic as the only former Wimbledon champion left in the men’s tournament and he remains firmly on course for a second appearance in the All England Club final.
Djokovic had made a first French Open title his top priority this year but, following a painful semi-final defeat against Nadal in Paris, a second Wimbledon crown to follow his triumph in 2011 would be a more than acceptable consolation prize.
The Serb hadn’t even surrendered a set in his six previous meetings with Chardy, including a first round clash en route to his Wimbledon title, and this was yet another one-sided contest.
Chardy had never been past the third round at Wimbledon.