Stan Wawrinka Losses To Novak Djokovic As Carlos Alcaraz Also Advances

Reigning champion Novak Djokovic defeated old rival Stan Wawrinka to reach the last 16 and move closer to an eighth men’s singles Wimbledon title.

Djokovic won 6-3 6-1 7-6 (7-5) in a match that finished 14 minutes before the 23:00 BST cut-off on Friday night.

Earlier on day five, world number one Carlos Alcaraz gained his first Centre Court win as he beat France’s Alexandre Muller to move into the third round.

Alcaraz and Djokovic are the top seeds and could meet in the final on 16 July.

Wawrinka, 38, is a three-time Grand Slam winner, beating Djokovic in two of those finals – the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open – but had said he had zero hopes of winning the tournament and “no chance” of beating 36-year-old Djokovic.

The Serb dominated the opening two sets, winning them in a total of 67 minutes, dropping only four games while doing so, but Warwrinka produced a better performance in the third set.

On Thursday the match between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas could not be completed in time, with Tsitsipas coming from two sets to one down to win on Friday.

But Djokovic, who is aiming to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record of eight titles, ensured his match would not go into extra time as he fought back from 5-3 down in the tie-break to advance into the last 16.

“We are two old guys fighting with the young guns,” said Djokovic. “We have had some amazing battles on the biggest courts. I respect him as a player and he is a really nice guy so I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.

“He was only two points away from extending the match to another day. One of us had to win in straight sets [for it to end on Friday] and it looked very good in the first two sets.

“He then raised his level and I dropped mine, the crowd got involved and it was a good atmosphere.

“I know I have a couple of gears that I can go to as the tournament progresses.”

I’m playing at a great level – Alcaraz

Earlier on Friday, Alcaraz, 20, won 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 against world number 84 Muller.

This is Alcaraz’s third year of playing at Wimbledon and in 2021 he won on court six, before losing on Court One. His three wins in 2022 included two victories on Court One and another success on court two ahead before losing to Jannik Sinner in the last 16 on Centre Court.

He won his opener this year on Court One on Tuesday, with this win over Muller surely the first of many on the sport’s most famous stage.

“It’s something I wanted to enjoy every single second of and I did,” said Alcaraz. “I’m playing at a great level, getting more experience and getting better each match.”

Alcaraz struggled early on, repeatedly sending forehands from the baseline long and that gave Muller three break points early on, but he was unable to convert them.

The Spaniard – showing superb touch, technique and pace of shot – gained the vital break in the seventh game.

Alcaraz won the tie-break and was untroubled in the third set to set up a meeting with 25th seed Nicolas Jarry of Chile in round three.

Medvedev not at home on grass, but ‘at the door’

Daniil Medvedev beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-5) in round two after the match had been stopped at 4-4 in the third set on Thursday because of bad light.

Earlier this week, Medvedev, who has never gone past the last 16 at Wimbledon, said he “didn’t feel at home” on grass, and now said: “I’m getting there. Maybe at the door. Not inside, but at the door.”

Matteo Berrettini, runner-up in 2021, beat 15th seed Alex de Minaur and was delighted with the win having missed the 2022 event after testing positive for Covid just before the tournament started.

“What happened [the withdrawal] is something that hasn’t healed yet [mentally],” said Berrettini after his 6-3 6-4 6-4 second-round win, with Germany’s 19th seed Alexander Zverev set to be his third-round opponent.

“It’s a really sharp pain, if I think about it,” said Berrettini. “I probably was in the best shape in my career, feeling great on grass and wanted to enjoy the tournament, such a special tournament.

“Not being able to play was something that, even when I was better physically, was really tough mentally to overcome.”

Berrettini’s compatriot Jannik Sinner, seeded eighth, has moved into the last 16 after coming from a set down to beat France’s Quentin Halys 3-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.

Elsewhere, sixth seed Holger Rune defeated Spain’s Roberto Caballes Baena in round two, while there were third-round victories for Russia’s seventh seed Andrey Rublev, Polish 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz and 23rd seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.