Djokovic sets another record at Wimbledon after reaching third round for 19th time

Novak Djokovic added another record to his name by reaching Wimbledon's third round for a 19th time with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win over Dan Evans at Centre Court on Thursday.

It was Djokovic's 99th win at Wimbledon overall, and the 19th third-round appearance put him one ahead of Roger Federer for most by any man in the Open Era.

It's hardly the most prestigious record for Djokovic, whose 24 Grand Slam titles – including seven at Wimbledon – are the most by a male player. Nonetheless, he could at least use it to poke fun at his new, and much younger, main rivals.

"Nineteen times, that's a great stat," Djokovic said. "That's probably almost as much as Sinner and Alcaraz have years in their lives."

Djokovic remains focused on proving he can still win another Grand Slam to sit back and reflect on everything he has accomplished at Wimbledon.

"I don't pause to reflect, to be honest. I don't have time," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "I would like to. 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 and just reflect on our rivalry and everything."

Against Evans, Djokovic failed to convert his first nine break points in the first set, but once he got the breakthrough for a 5-3 lead – raising both arms in the air as if to say "finally" – he went five-for-six on break points the rest of the way.

Sinner reaches third round with an easy win over Vukic

On the same day, top-ranked Jannik Sinner moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Aleksandar Vukic of Australia at Centre Court on Thursday.

Sinner had 38 winners and just 11 unforced errors in one hour and 40 minutes while saving all four break points he faced.

The owner of three Grand Slam titles advanced to face 52nd-ranked Pedro Martinez of Spain on Saturday.

Wimbledon is the only major tournament where Sinner has yet to reach a final; he lost in the 2023 semifinals at the All England Club.

He won the Australian Open each of the past two years, won the U.S. Open last September and was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open last month. Sinner took the first two sets in that final and held three championship points before Alcaraz came back to win.

Cilic sends fourth seed Draper out in second round

Home No. 4 seed Jack Draper suffered a shock exit to former finalist Marin Cilic who rolled back the years to reach the third round.

Cilic, the Croatian world No. 83, blasted 53 winners in a 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory that stunned the partisan British fans at Court One.

Draper is the new figurehead of British tennis after taking on a role filled for a generation by the now-retired former Wimbledon winner Andy Murray, but the 23-year-old has a poor record at his home Grand Slam. He is yet to make it past the second round in four appearances at the grass-court tournament.

"It's probably one of my toughest losses. Pretty frustrated and upset. It hurts badly," Draper said. "I've been disappointed with my game on grass this year. I felt great on clay and hard courts but as soon as I came on grass I felt a big difference.”

In contrast to Draper's woes in south-west London, Cilic has an impressive record at Wimbledon, finishing as runner-up in 2017, when he lost in the final against Federer.

The former world No. 3 has not played at the All England Club since 2021 and has slipped down the rankings after battling a knee injury that required surgery.

"My emotions are just incredible. Where I was two years ago, I can't even describe. It has been a long journey but I never lost any faith," Cilic said. "It was a long and testing period, plus a huge challenge for me in this part of my career to come back and play at this level.”