Djokovic completes US men's misery

World number one Novak Djokovic defeated Bobby Reynolds under the Centre Court roof to make it the worst Wimbledon for America’s men for more than a century.

There were 11 US entrants in the men’s singles draw but, after Reynolds’ 7-6 (7/2) 6-3 6-1 defeat, none are left going into the third round for the first time since 1912.

Reynolds had the toughest task of the lot and he performed admirably against Djokovic, earning the support of the crowd for his dogged resistance.

Djokovic was not at his best but he would have been more than happy with a straight-sets win after yesterday’s drama ended with Roger Federer joining Rafael Nadal in crashing out of the tournament.

Djokovic is the only former champion left in the draw and appears on course for a final clash with Andy Murray.

There were a few encouraging signs for Murray fans as Djokovic laboured for a set and a half against Reynolds, a qualifier ranked 156th for whom an opening-round win over Steve Johnson represented a first victory at grand slam level since the 2008 US Open.

Reynolds was under constant pressure on his serve and earned a huge cheer when he set up a first-set tie-break.

The only glimmer of hope on the Djokovic serve for Reynolds came at 1-0 in the second set when he had a routine smash for three break points but shanked it over the baseline.

The crowd sighed, Djokovic held and then finally took his ninth break point.

The longer the match went on, the better the Serbian played, and he eventually wrapped up victory with a neat volley after an hour and 54 minutes, despite taking only four of 18 break points.

Djokovic next meets either 28th seed Jeremy Chardy or Jan-Lennard Struff, who were tied at one set all when the rain came.

The top seed was certainly not going to take victory for granted after the results of the past few days, and Djokovic told the BBC: “It is strange so many top players have lost this week.

“But it is a grand slam and all the lower-ranked players have extra motivation to come out and play on the big stage so I needed to be extra careful.

“And with the roof closed it was a bit different, I needed some time to adjust to the conditions. It was a bit slower than I expected, but I played well in the second and third sets and I’m glad I’m through.

“My game is there, I just need to try to capitalise on my opportunities. Today I was very poor on the break points but credit to my opponent, he played some very good points. It was a nice match to play and I’m looking forward to the next one.”