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Novak Djokovic once again drew all the cameras as he stormed into the third round of Wimbledon for a record 19th time with a commanding 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win over Dan Evans. The victory marked his 99th match win at Wimbledon, which is another Open Era milestone for the Serbian, taking him past Roger Federer for most third-round appearances by a man at SW19. Djokovic, still recovering from knee surgery just weeks ago, admitted he doesn’t stop to reflect often. “I would like to,” he said, “but I think that’s going to come probably when I set the racket aside and then sip margarita on the beach with Federer and Nadal.”“That’s probably almost as much as Sinner and Alcaraz have years in their lives,” joked the 38-year-old Djokovic in a nod to the rising generation. While Djokovic continues to add chapters to his legacy, his rivals Jannik Sinner (23) and Carlos Alcaraz (22) are now front and centre of tennis’s next great rivalry. It wasn’t all smooth sailing against Evans, as Djokovic missed his first nine break points before unlocking the match with a 5-3 lead. From there, he was nearly flawless, winning five of his next six break points and not facing a single one until the final game.
“You have these kinds of days where everything goes your way,” he said. “Everything flows,” said the veteran, as quoted by AP. Elsewhere, Mirra Andreeva and 2022 champion Elena Rybakina booked their places in the third round in straight sets. No. 10 Emma Navarro also advanced, while in the men’s draw, Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov moved on.
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Sinner was due to play later Thursday on Centre Court, while Iga Swiatek pulled off a thrilling win over American Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. With the result, the Pole became only the third player to reach 22 third round appearances, joining the ranks of Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo. Looking ahead, Friday will see Alcaraz take on Jan-Lennard Struff, and Aryna Sabalenka face off with Emma Raducanu in a marquee centre Court clash.
