Djokovic passes 1st grass test
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TOP seed Novak Djokovic passed his first grasscourt test of the season yesterday, defeating Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals at Eastbourne.
The Serb is playing a pre-Wimbledon event for the first time since 2010 and will next face Donald Young, who saw off Jared Donaldson 6-4, 7-5.
The three-time Wimbledon champion got onto court after rain washed out Tuesday’s play — save one game in the Djokovic match — leaving organizers with a backlog to get through.
“That was the first official grasscourt match for me this year,” Djokovic said. “I’m glad that I came here to Eastbourne. I have had a great couple of days of training with good players, different styles of game.
“Yesterday it obviously wasn’t really enjoyable to see the rain falling all day.
“But today we almost played a full match, so I’m glad for that. I felt good on the court, considering it’s the first match.”
Djokovic, who will be advised by Andre Agassi at Wimbledon, is the 2nd-highest-ranked men’s player to ever compete at the Aegon International behind then-No. 2 Marcelo Rios in 1998.
In the first round, Russian Daniil Medvedev knocked out fifth seed Sam Querrey, beating the American 6-3, 7-5. German Mischa Zverev, No. 6, beat Ryan Harrison of the US 6-4, 7-6 (9).
On the women’s side, top-ranked Angelique Kerber recovered to beat Czech Kristyna Pliskova 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, as the German returned to action for the first time since her first-round defeat at the French Open.
Kerber is fighting to hold onto her No. 1 ranking and withdrew from last week’s Birmingham event with a hamstring strain.
Roland Garros finalist Simona Halep, who trails Kerber by just 115 ranking points, rallied to defeat China’s Duan Yingying 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, while France’s Kristina Mladenovic, seeded ninth, ousted Zhang Shuai 6-0, 6-4.
However, Peng Shuai upset 15th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-4
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