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July 1 (UPI) -- Novak Djokovic roared into the Round of 16 with a straight-sets win over Miomir Kecmanovic on Friday at Wimbledon. Maria Sakkari became the latest upset victim, losing in straight sets to unseeded Tatjana Maria. Djokovic dispatched his Serbian countryman in fewer than two hours. The No. 1 seed fired six aces, 36 winners and won 6 of 14 break point opportunities in the 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 triumph.
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"I think I've been playing better and better as the tournament progresses," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "That's something you always wish for as a player.
"I know I can always do better, but so far so good. I'm looking forward to the next challenge."
Djokovic will battle wild-card entrant Tim van Rijthoven of the Netherlands for a ticket to the quarterfinals.
No. 23 Frances Tiafoe of the United States also advanced Friday with a four-set win over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan. Fellow American Tommy Paul, the No. 30 seed, claimed a straight-sets win over Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.
No. 5 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, No. 10 Jannik Sinner of Italy, David Goffin of Belgium and van Rijthoven were among the other men to advance Friday in London.
Alcaraz beat No. 32 Oscar Otte of Germany. Sinner edged No. 20 John Isner of the United States.
Isner, who lost in straight sets, set the ATP record for career aces during the setback. He passed Croatian Ivo Karlovic's previous mark of 13,728 in the third set. The 6-foot-10 Isner totaled 24 first-serve points in Friday's match to push his career ace tally to 13,748.
On the women's side, Sakkari-Maria provided the most shocking result. Maria needed 91 minutes to beat her fifth-seeded Greek foe.
The German totaled five aces, totaled 12 unforced errors and converted 3 of 5 break point opportunities.
Sakkari converted just 1 of 7 break point chances and totaled 30 unforced errors.
"I think I played a pretty good game from the beginning to the end," Maria told Wimbledon.com. "I stayed aggressive. I went to the net a lot. ... I'm happy I could win in two sets."
Maria will face No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the Round of 16. The winner will meet England's Heather Watson or German Jule Niemeier in the quarterfinals.
Ostapenko advanced with a third-round win over Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. Watson edged Slovenian Kaja Juvan. Niemeier beat Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.
No. 24 Elise Mertens of Belgium and unseeded Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic also scored straight-sets upset wins Friday. Bouzkova beat No. 28 Alison Riske of the United States. Mertens beat No. 15 Angelique Kerber of Germany.
Unseeded Caroline Garcia of France also upset No. 33 Shuai Zhang of China in straight sets.
No. 3 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia was the top-seeded women's player to move on Friday at Wimbledon. She beat unseeded Diane Parry of France in straight sets.
Third-round coverage will air Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT on ESPN and from 1 to 4 p.m. on ABC.
The first wave of Round of 16 coverage will air at the same times Sunday on ESPN and ABC.
The Wimbledon 2022 women's singles final will be July 9 on ESPN. The men's final will air the next day on the same network.
