Even though his first-round round opponent in Alexandr Dolgopolov last just 43 minutes on the court, the general sentiment that Roger Federer will capture yet another Wimbledon title this year remains intact.
Federer advanced to the second round of the tournament after Dolgopolov suffered an ankle injury, which forced their match to end abruptly a 6-3, 3-0 in favor of the Swiss legend. Regardless of how that encounter turned out, Federer still bagged his 85th-career victory at Wimbledon – an Open Era best.
The 35-year-old ageless wonder hasn’t lost a single step playing on the surface his loves most, as evident in his win at the Gerry Weber Open the weekend before making his return trip to the All England Club. He didn’t even lose a set in the tourney at that.
With seven Wimbledon titles won and a mind-numbing liftetime record of 157-24 on grass, there’s really no reason to doubt that Federer will swiftly dispatch his second round opponent this Thursday.
Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic has jsut pulled away with a straight-sets victory (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) over wild card Stefanos Tsitsipas, marking the first time since 2013 that he’s advanced to the second round of Wimbledon in singles competition.
However, that’s about as far the complements go for the 27-year-old. In 12 Grand Slam appearances, Lajovic has only advanced past the second round once and that was back at the 2014 French Open. There’s also really no sound barometer we can use on how he’s fared against some of the ATP Tour’s true contenders this year because most of his time has been spent on the less-competitive ATP Challenger Tour circuit.
Throw in the fact that Lajovic has yet to topple a top-10 opponent in seven tries throughout his 10-year professional career, and it’s more than likely that the 79th-ranked Belgrade native will end up being just another hapless opponent taken down by Federer’s tear through the All England Club.
