ONE of the perks of the job of being the world’s best player is preferential scheduling on the big Grand Slam courts.

    So it was that top seed Novak Djokovic was the first player to reach the third round at a rain-soaked Wimbledon when many in both singles draws had not yet finished their first.

    That included Australians Bernard Tomic and Matt Barton, whose incomplete matches were suspended Tuesday and resumed only briefly Wednesday before the dampness descended again.

    That left Tomic, the 19th seed, one game from victory at 5-3 in the fifth set of his clash with Fernando Verdasco, and debutant Matt Barton having made good use of his brief window of opportunity to lead two sets to one against fellow qualifier Albano Olivetti.

    No such frustrations though for Djokovic, who followed third women’s seed Agnieszka Radwanska — a 6-2, 6-1 winner over young Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova — under the retractable center court roof, and past tenacious Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to record his 30th consecutive Grand Slam match win.

    Unlike at the French Open, where no covered court is scheduled to be available until at least 2020, at least the broadcasters were kept satisfied through the gloom on day three at Wimbledon.

    Also happy was 10th seed Tomas Berdych, who managed to sneak through into the last 64 by wrapping up his match against Ivan Dodig on court 18.

    Djokovic, meanwhile, is seeking to become just the second man in history to claim five consecutive majors and chasing a third in succession at Wimbledon.

    He saw off a first set challenge from 55th-ranked Mannarino, a talented left-hander whose early highlight was an outrageous backhand drop shot winner that left Djokovic laughing in disbelief.

    The 12-time major winner was less amused by late in the third set though, as after having failed to serve out the match at 5-4, Djokovic’s eighth double-fault sealed a break back by Mannarino.

    Mannarino raised his level to force a high-quality tiebreak from both players, before Djokovic finished it off with a fine backhand return.

    Meanwhile, Wimbledon’s greatest fairytale has come to an end. Marcus Willis, the No. 772-ranked Brit who, against all odds, found himself playing Roger Federer at Wimbledon, was out of the tournament Wednesday. The 25-year-old underdog put up a better fight than almost anyone could’ve imagined. The match started out with Federer predictably beating Willis 6-0. But Willis managed to win three games over Federer in the second set, and four in the third.

    (SD-Agencies)