EASTBOURNE, England (AP) – Novak Djokovic downplayed his chances of capturing a fourth Wimbledon title after winning his first match on grass this year at the Eastbourne International on Wednesday.
Djokovic beat Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-3 in a second-round match that was carried over from Tuesday because of rain, setting up a quarterfinal match against Donald Young at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
The top-seeded Djokovic broke Pospisil’s serve once in each set in a comfortable 85-minute victory, which wasn’t enough to persuade the former No. 1 that he would be among the favorites for Wimbledon.
“It is liberating a bit,” said Djokovic, who has had an inconsistent last 12 months, during which he has relinquished all his Grand Slam titles. “I was very fortunate and privileged to have so much success in the last eight, nine years, and kind of entered most of the tournaments as one of the biggest favorites. So for a change, it’s good to not be one of the top favorites.
“It releases a bit of the pressure.”
Despite being ranked No. 4, he was seeded at No. 2 by the All England Club on Wednesday because of his good recent results at Wimbledon. He won the title there in 2011, ‘14 and ‘15.
