June 25, 2011 -- Updated 2051 GMT (0451 HKT)
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic roars with relief after finally ending the challenge of 32nd seed Marcos Baghdatis.
(CNN) -- World No. 2 Novak Djokovic survived his first big test of Wimbledon 2011 as he overcame crowd favorite Marcos Baghdatis to reach the last 16 of the grass-court grand slam in London on Saturday.
The Serbian appeared on course for an easy victory after winning the first set, but the 24-year-old completely lost his cool as his 30th-ranked opponent fought back in the second.
Djokovic was given a warning after smashing his racket into the ground three times, a petulant outburst that ensured the Centre Court crowd was firmly behind Baghdatis -- a 2006 semifinalist here after losing in the final of that year's Australian Open.
Djokovic, seeking his first Wimbledon title after his 43-match unbeaten run ended at the French Open semifinals, recovered his poise to triumph 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4 and set up a fourth-round clash with France's Michael Llodra.
Baghdatis will not feature when the second week of the tournament begins on Monday, but the 26-year-old won plenty of fans with his big-hearted performance as he tested Australian Open champion Djokovic right until the end -- even winning an 18-shot rally despite his tiring legs.
"To pull a win out of this game was great. Today wasn't my day totally but when I needed to I played some good shots," Djokovic said.
He joined world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in winning through, meaning the top four players are still in the draw following Andy Murray's victory on Friday.
Defending champion Nadal will next play former world No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro in the tie of the fourth round, with the Spaniard completing a straight-sets win over Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.
Resuming the rain-delayed match after winning the opening set 7-6 (8-6), Nadal won the next 7-5 in another tie-and then whitewashed his 92nd-ranked fellow left-hander 6-0 in the third.
Del Potro, now ranked 21st as he continues his comeback from long-term wrist problems, defeated French 15th seed Gilles Simon 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.
The Argentine had never gone past round two before, but has a great chance of reaching the semis if he can beat Nadal.
"I'm not lucky to play against Del Potro in the round of 16," Nadal said, adding that the knee problem he suffered on Friday was not serious.
"He's a very, very tough opponent, one of the best players of the world. When he's healthy, he's top-five level normally, so it will be a very tough opponent for me. I have to be playing my best tennis to try to win."
The winner of their match will face either last year's runner-up Tomas Berdych or 10th seed Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals.
Czech seventh seed Berdych beat Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-2 6-4 6-3 to leave Fish as the only American left in the men's draw following Dutchman Robin Haase's injury retirement at 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 1-1 down in their encounter.
Federer, seeking to equal Pete Sampras with a seventh Open Era title at Wimbledon, showed he will again be a contender by defeating sometime nemesis David Nalbandian in straight sets.
The 16-time grand slam winner has lost eight times to the Argentine, but the Swiss third seed was in control as he triumphed 6-4 6-2 6-4 to set up a clash with Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.
Youzhny, seeded 18th, has now reached the fourth round six times since 2001 following his 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over Spain's No. 16 Nicolas Almagro, but has yet to go further.
Fifth seed Robin Soderling reached the quarterfinals last year, but the Swede's participation ended on Saturday with a shock defeat by Australian teenager Bernard Tomic.
The 18-year-old, who lost in the first round in his debut appearance in 2010, won 6-1 6-4 7-5 to earn a meeting with 2002 semifinalist Xavier Malisse.
Ranked 158th in the world, he will become Australia's new No. 1 after the tournament ahead of 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, who was beaten by Soderling in five sets in the previous round.
Belgium's Malisse ended the hopes of Austrian 11th seed Jurgen Melzer, winning 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-0 to qualify for the last 16 for the first time since 2004.
French ninth seed Gael Monfils also crashed out, losing 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-3 to Poland's Lukasz Kubot.
The world No. 93, a doubles specialist who lost in the second round last year, will next take on Spain's Feliciano Lopez -- who eliminated three-time runner-up Andy Roddick on Friday.
Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer moved into the last 16 for the second successive year as he beat Slovakia's Karol Beck 6-4 6-3 6-3.
The Australian Open semifinalist will next face French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who won 6-3 6-4 6-3 against Chile's Fernando Gonzalez.
Llodra, seeded 19th, has already bettered his best performance by passing the second round and will take on Djokovic after his 6-3 6-3 6-1 win over Lu Yen-Hsun, who last year became the first Taiwanese player to reach the quarterfinals.
The other fourth-round match sees Murray play French 15th seed Richard Gasquet, who he beat in a five-set thriller at Wimbledon three years ago to reach his first grand slam quarterfinal.
Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)
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