‘Someone can beat Djokovic. But I’d be astonished…’: Wawrinka’s striking remark on Serb’s Wimbledon fate after loss

The blockbuster clash between two old rivals and multiple Grand Slam winners in men’s singles third round of 2023 Wimbledon turned out to be a lopsided affair as Novak Djokovic, the defending champion for over four years, thoroughly dominated Stan Wawrinka to script a straight-set win. While the win added to Djokovic’s jaw-dropping numbers at Wimbledon as he remains unbeaten on Centre Court for a decade, Wawrinka made a striking remark on the Serb’s fate at the SW19. (Wimbledon 2023 Day 6 Live Updates)

It was their 27th meeting on ATP tour with Djokovic still having a significant lead in the head-to-head tie after he barely escaped curfew time late on Friday night with a 6-3 6-1 7-6(5) win.

Ahead of the game, Wawrinka game himself no chance to beating Djokovic, who has remained invincible in the tournament since 2017, despite having an edge over the 36-year-old in Grand Slam meetings. After the loss, Wawrinka opined that while he does see an end to Djokovic’s streak of 24 wins in Majors since last Wimbledon, he felt it is unlikely to happen at the All England Club.

“Djokovic is the best in the world,” Wawrinka said. “Someone can beat him. One match can lead to many scenarios. But I would be astonished to see it here.”

Despite the loss, the Swiss was happy to have faced Djokovic at the only Slam where the didn’t so far.

The world No 88 added: “It was a tough match, as I expected. Right now he’s the best player to play. It’s tough for me to play him here in Wimbledon. At the end I’m quite happy with my performance. At least I gave a fight at the end. I was playing better. I was a bit more focus on myself.

“Of course, as I expected, it was going to be tough to play against him. I’m not at his level right now. I’m not at his level of confidence, of play, of everything. I was trying to just play my best game tonight.”

Djokovic will next face 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round.