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Nadal, Djokovic through as Cilic crashes at Wimbledon

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AFP London
Last Updated : Jul 05 2018 | 9:25 PM IST

Former champions Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic battled into the Wimbledon third round on Thursday but third seed and 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic crashed out.

World number one Nadal defeated Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and will next face Australian teenager Alex de Minaur.

Djokovic, the three-time champion, needed treatment on his left thigh on Court Two but still had too many weapons for Argentina's Horacio Zeballos, winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

Djokovic has now made the third round for 10 consecutive years and will face either British 21st seed Kyle Edmund or US qualifier Bradley Klahn.

Cilic blew a two-set lead in his 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 loss to Argentina's Guido Pella, ranked at 82.

When rain forced the tie to be postponed on Wednesday, Cilic was leading by two sets against an opponent who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year.

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But the Croatian collapsed once the match resumed on Court One on Thursday and Pella took full advantage to set up a third round clash with Mackenzie McDonald.

Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, had been expected to mount a strong challenge for the Wimbledon title after winning the grass-court warm-up at Queen's Club two weeks ago.

But his defeat is good news for defending champion Roger Federer, who was on course to face Cilic in the semi-finals.

"Yesterday he was playing so good, hitting the ball so hard that I couldn't do anything," Pella said.

"So the rain helped me a lot. Today I played differently, tried to be more aggressive, he started to feel uncomfortable.

"I tried to hit the ball hard and fight for every ball and I think in the end that's why I won." - Low bounce -
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First Published: Jul 05 2018 | 9:25 PM IST

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