Wimbledon 2017: Novak Djokovic outclasses Ernests Gulbis to reach fourth round

Djokovic, who is seeded second at SW19, never looked in any kind of trouble as he found his way past the eccentric and unpredictable Latvian.

Gulbis was outfoxed at a crucial moment in the opening set as he lost his serve to hand the early advantage to the Serb.

The second set was emphatic as Djokovic conceded just one game in cruising to a two-set lead and a commanding lead.

Gulbis again put up a fight in the third set and pushed Djokovic to a tie-break, but the Serb had too much class and won it comfortably to close out victory.

Djokovic will next take on France's Adrian Mannarino in the fourth round after the 29-year-old surprisingly beat compatriot and 15th seed Gael Monfils in five sets.

The Serbian clashed with the umpire early in the match, complaining he was apparently too late to challenge two calls.

"That's two points in a row, beginning of the match. Focus, please." Asked afterwards about the disagreement, Djokovic told the BBC: "Maybe it was not the right words to say, I apologise. It was just very odd in the third game two situations where I thought the call should have been different.

"But he is trying to do his job the best he can, I am too. In the heat of the moment you exchange things and I think we will be fine."

The display of irritation might make wary those predicting Djokovic will win a fourth Wimbledon title next weekend, but after reaching his 10th fourth round here he is yet to drop a set.

"I am delighted with the performance," Djokovic said. "I thought I raised the level of tennis compared to the last couple of matches and last couple of weeks. It was the most focused I was on court and at the right time.

"Gulbis presents a great challenge. He is very unpredictable, he has a huge serve at 125, 130 miles per hour and on grass it's not easy against a big server like that.

"He started very well. He was a break up and I managed to win seven or eight games in a row, which gave me lot of confidence. In general I'm very pleased with how I felt I played."