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LONDON. – Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon third round yesterday with a win over Jarkko Nieminen which brought down the curtain on the Finn’s All England Club tennis career.

Top seed Djokovic, who won 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, will take on Australian 27th seed Bernard Tomic for a place in the last 16 as the Serb continues his bid to win a third Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam crown.

It was Djokovic’s sixth career win in seven meetings against the 33-year-old Nieminen and the two men exchanged a warm embrace at the net once their 92-minute Centre Court duel had ended.

“It was his last Wimbledon so I congratulated him on a great career,” said Djokovic.

“He’s been around for many years and he’s one of the nicest guys off the court and a great fighter on it. It was a pleasure to play him.”

Djokovic overcame a break early in the first set but from then on it was plain sailing for the champion who finished with an impressive 36 winners.

“I was solid throughout. He broke early on but I regrouped and played some good tennis,” added Djokovic.

Nieminen, whose best performance at the All England Club was a quarter-final run in 2006, had ended the Wimbledon career of 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the first round.

After his own curtain call yesterday, he placed a kiss on the Centre Court grass as the fans gave him and the champion a standing ovation.

Women’s fourth seed Maria Sharapova also reached the Wimbledon third round yesterday with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp.

Sharapova, the 2004 champion, faces either Romanian 29th seed Irina Camelia-Begu or Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko for a place in the last 16.

Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori pulled out of Wimbledon yesterday after a calf injury prevented him from playing his second round clash.

Nishikori was scheduled to face Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo on Centre Court for a place in the last 32.

The 25-year-old first suffered the left calf injury in Halle last month when he was forced to retire in the semifinals against Andreas Seppi.

He had needed five sets to beat Simone Bolelli in the first round at Wimbledon on Monday and felt the injury again.

“It got worse in the fifth set of that match, it hurt so much,” said Nishikori.

“It hurt to walk and run today so I decided not to play. During the first match against Simone, I hurt pretty bad. I don’t know how I fight through, but somehow I won.”

As Giraldo goes on to face either German teenager Alexander Zverev or American wildcard Denis Kudla for a third round spot, Nishikori was left contemplating another injury setback in his career.

Nishikori, the US Open runner-up last year, didn’t play from April 2009 until April 2010 after undergoing surgery on his right elbow.

Last year, he was forced to quit his Madrid Masters final against Rafael Nadal with a back injury which was still affecting him by the time the French Open came around.

“I try to prepare but I usually play 100 percent. I cannot stop. So I cannot stop injury every time,” said the Japanese star.

“But when it happens, especially in Grand Slam, it’s very, very sad and disappointing.”

British wildcard Liam Broady, whose bushy beard and family dramas have received as much attention as his first-round win, was cut down to size by Belgium’s David Goffin.

Broady, one of four home players through to the second round of the men’s singles for the first time since 2006, stayed with 16th seed Goffin in the opening set but could not maintain the pace in searing heat and went down 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-1.

A service game lasting more than 10 minutes broke Broady’s resistance early in the second set and the accurate Goffin pressed the accelerator to race away from the 21-year-old.

Broady’s sister Naomi went out in the first round on Monday, the day Liam recovered from two sets down to beat experienced Australian Marinko Matosevic.

They were the first British brother and sister to play at Wimbledon for 37 years but it was not all family harmony. – AFP.