Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic has reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships twice, winning the title for the only time in 2011. Getty Images

Top seed Novak Djokovic takes on Gilles Simon in the third round of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships at the Centre Court of the All England Club in London, on Friday.

Where to Watch Live

The match is set to begin at 1pm BST. Live coverage is on BBC Two and BBC Two HD. Radio commentary of the game is on BBC Radio 5 Live. Live scores, regular updates, radio commentary and the live streaming link will be available on Wimbledon's official website.

Overview

Djokovic battled his way into the third round of this year's Grand Slam event at the All England Club after registering a hard fought victory against his close friend Radek Stepanek.

The Serbian took three hours and 17 minutes and needed four sets to secure his 40<sup>th career victory at the Wimbledon Championships with a score, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), on Wednesday.

After taking the first two sets with ease, the Serbian led the third set 5-2 in the third set tie-breaker, only to see the 35-year-old Czech Republican bounce back to seal the set and force another set.

Stepanek was on the verge of repeating his feat in the fourth but at 5-5 in the tie-breaker his forehand could only find the net; and Djokovic made no error smashing the winner this time.

The 27-year-old is now pitted against 44<sup>th ranked Gilles Simon who got the better of Robin Haase in straight sets. After a hard fought, 7-6 (1), victory in the first set, the Frenchman won the subsequent sets in a relatively comfortable manner, 6-4, 6-4, in a match that lasted 122 minutes.

Djokovic and his 29-year-old third round opponent have faced each other seven times with their last meeting taking place back in 2010 at the Davis Cup final between Serbia and France.

The six-time Grand Slam winner will be aiming to secure a straight set victory at the Centre court and could potentially face world no 17 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round.

The 29-year-old Frenchman is in action against Taiwanese qualifier, Jimmy Wang, on No 3 Court.

Betting Odds (Bwin)

  • Novak Djokovic:1/41
  • Gilles Simon: 12

Head-to-Head

Djokovic holds a 6-1 lead against Simon in overall meetings. The two have never faced each other in a Grand Slam event.

Djokovic also has a 5-0 lead in the last five clashes against Simon.

Novak Djokovic