LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Novak Djokovic made the Wimbledon fourth round for the 15th time on Friday, beating old rival Stan Wawrinka and a night-time curfew as Andy Murray hinted his All England Club days may be over.
Djokovic, chasing a record-tying eighth Wimbledon title and 24th career Grand Slam crown, came through 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) against the 38-year-old Wawrinka.
World No. 2 Djokovic will face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who he has defeated five times in as many meetings, for a place in the quarterfinals.
The win was Djokovic’s 21st in 27 meetings with Wawrinka, a three-time major champion who famously defeated the Serbian in the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open finals.
Djokovic never faced a break point under the Center Court roof and completed victory just 15 minutes before the 11 p.m. All England Club curfew kicked in otherwise they would have had to return on Saturday.
“Stan’s doing an amazing job for his age — we are two old guys,” said 36-year-old Djokovic who went level with Pete Sampras’s mark of 31 successive wins at the tournament.
“We’ve had great battles over the years. I respect him as a player and love him as a person. He’s a really nice guy.”
Djokovic’s win kept him on course for a championship match showdown with world number one and US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz who defeated 84th-ranked Alexandre Muller of France 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
The 20-year-old Alcaraz will face Chile’s Nicolas Jarry for a spot in the Last 16.
Murray admitted he doesn’t know if he will be back at Wimbledon after going down 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (2/7), 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 to fifth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas in a four-hour 40-minute second round epic.
The 36-year-old has not made the second week of a Grand Slam since reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2017.
“I don’t know,” said former world No. 1 Murray when asked if he would be back in 2024.
“Motivation is obviously a big thing. Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this doesn’t necessarily help with that.”
