Top-seeded Novak Djokovic, defending champion Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic will be in action on the fifth day of the Wimbledon on Friday at the All England Club.
Djokovic earned a hard-fought victory over Radek Stepanek in the second round to book Gilles Simon clash in the next round. He was set for a straight set victory over Stepanek when the Czech raised his game and troubled the former champion.
On the other hand, Simon displayed an error-free game against Robin Haase to clinch a straight set victory. However, Djokovic is a different ball game altogether for the French, who has won just once against the Serbian in seven encounters.
Djokovic, who faced few adversities in overcoming Stepanek, said he is happy to spend some time on the court and getting used to the surface, which will help him in the forthcoming matches.
"I'm just happy to have spent this amount of time on the court, to play a lot of rallies, to return and to serve," Djokovic said. "Physically I feel fine. This can just help me mentally for the (remainder) of the event."
Meanwhile, home-town hope Murray is up against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in the third round, after playing a rapid-fire match against Blaz Rola. The two-time major winner racked up seven aces and 27 winners and needed just 88 minutes to oust the Slovenian.
This will be the first clash between Murray and Bautista and the reigning champion is aware that Bautista is a first real threat for him in The Championships. The British number one has trained with the Spaniard during the Madrid Open and insisted that Bautista's game is ideal for grass-court.
"He's a very good player," Murray said. "He won the tournament last week on the grass. He doesn't play like a lot of the Spanish guys. He plays very flat (with) not much topspin. The grass courts suit his game pretty well. It will be a step up for sure. He's improving all the time."
Czech Republic's Berdych will face big-server Marin Cilic in Round 3, after beating Bernard Tomic of Australia. The Czech battled through the wrist problem against the Aussie and rallied back from one set down to clinch the encounter.
Cilic has an opportunity to match his previous best results at the All England Club, but it is going to be tough against the former finalist. Berdych has a 5-2 win-loss record over the Croat, and he has also defeated Cilic in straight sets in their most recent clash in Rotterdam.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov will also be in action against Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will face Jimmy Wang, while Feliciano Lopez of Spain will lock horns with Ante Pavic in the third round.
Schedule of Play
Novak Djokovic vs Gilles Simon 5:30 pm IST, 8:00 am ET and 12:00 pm GMT
Andy Murray vs Roberto Bautista Agut 10:00 pm IST, 12:30 pm ET and 4:30 pm GMT
Tomas Berdych vs Marin Cilic 10:00 pm IST, 12:30 pm ET and 4:30 pm GMT
Where to Watch Live
The day's action is scheduled for 4:00 pm IST, 10:30 am GMT and 6:30 am ET start with live coverage on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD1 in India and live streaming option HERE and HERE. International viewers can catch the action HERE and HERE or listen to the action free HERE.
BBC will broadcast matches live in UK. Viewers can also live stream the action HERE or HERE. Catch the action live on ESPN in the United States or see live streaming HERE. SuperSport will telecast the action in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa and viewers can catch the matches live HERE.
