LONDON, July 4 (AFP): Defending champion Novak Djokovic and 2004 winner Maria Sharapova swept into the Wimbledon fourth round yesterday as controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios bolstered his reputation as the next generation�s brightest star.
Top seed Djokovic made the last 16 for the seventh successive year by routing Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-3, 6- 3, 6-3 on the back of 15 aces and 38 winners.
The Serb then faced a different challenge as he walked off Centre Court when he was asked to autograph the prosthetic leg of a wheelchair-bound fan.
�The gentleman gave me his artificial leg... I want to be politically correct about it,� smiled the 29-year-old Djokovic who next faces South Africa�s Kevin Anderson.
�I gave him my signature. I hope it will make him feel better.�
Fourth seeded Sharapova made the last 16 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Romania�s Irina-Camelia Begu and goes on to tackle either Germany�s 14th seed Andrea Petkovic or unseeded Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan for a spot in the quarter-finals.
�What everyone at this stage of the tournament expects is to go further and expect more, better things from yourself. As the matches get tougher, you have to raise your level,� said five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova.
Kyrgios, who famously defeated Rafael Nadal in 2014 when he was ranked 144 in the world, avenged his quarter-final loss of 12 months ago to seventh seed Milos Raonic with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory.
Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka reached the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Fernando Verdasco for his first win over the Spaniard in 10 years.
Goffin, the 16th seed, became only the fourth Belgian man to make the fourth round in the Open Era by defeating 2006 semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
