In one of the biggest showdowns of Wimbledon 2023, the world no.2 Novak Djokovic will take on three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka in the third round on Friday, July 7. Wawrinka famously beat Djokovic in the finals of the French Open in 2015 and the US Open in 2016 and will be looking to cause the biggest upset of the London major this year.
The Serbian legend beat Jordan Thompson 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 in the second round to record his 350th Grand Slam win but now faces his biggest challenge on his road to the 24th Grand Slam title. Djokovic dominates head-to-head record against the Swiss legend with a 20-6 lead but has lost twice in Grand Slam finals encounters.
Wawrinka, 38, defeated the world no. 29 Tomas Etcheverry by 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 to raise fans' hopes ahead of the mega clash against Djokovic. But the player himself played down his chances of winning against Djokovic. He declared that he has zero chance against Djokovic but promised to put up a fight to produce a competitive game.
“There's zero opportunity to win Wimbledon for me,” Wawrinka told reporters on Thursday. “I'm playing better each match, and as I say, I think it's an honor to play Novak here. I was missing that in my career to play him in the Grand Slam in Wimbledon. That's the last I never played him, and it's going to be a difficult challenge. Hopefully, I can make a competitive match, but if you will look at recent results, I don't really stand a chance.”
Meanwhile, Djokovic recalled his two defeats to Warwrinka in US Open final in 2016 and the French Open final in 2015, and jokingly said that the Swiss ace took two Grand Slam titles from him.
“He took away two Grand Slams from me. That's the role he played, beating me in two Grand Slam finals,” Djokovic said. "I like Stan a lot. He's a great person. Really always inspirational what he's doing at his age. He's almost 40 years old and he still keeps going strong. That's something that not many people can do.”
In another mouth-watering clash on Friday, former champion Andy Murray will resume his play against the world no.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Murray made a sensational comeback in the 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 game but rain suspended the play to deny the British star a famous win.
