Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic defeated Stan Wawrinka for the 21st time, although it was still "not enough" but he admired his opponent

SGGPO July 8, 2023 11:40

It can be said that, in his career, Novak Djokovic has had “2 biggest nemesis”; 1 is Rafael Nadal and 2 is Stan Wawrinka. If it weren’t for the Swiss veteran’s interference, Djokovic would have won 2 Grand Slam titles up to this point, meaning he would have 25 Grand Slams in his career, before Wimbledon 2023!

Djokovic beats Wawrinka

The 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 3-6 defeat in the 2015 Roland Garros final; and the 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 5-7, 3-6 defeat in the 2016 US Open final has, and still is, haunting Djokovic. As if “falling from the sky”, Wawrinka really made things difficult for Djokovic - right at the time when he had to try to overcome Roger Federer and try to compete with Andy Murray.

Wawrinka is also “no pushover”. A guy who dares to stand up and fight for glory for himself in the era of the “Big Three” (of course, according to the British media, that era must be the “Big Four”, including Andy Murray - with 3 Grand Slam titles and 2 Olympic singles gold medals) and won 3 different Grand Slam championships.

It's no coincidence that, when he learned about the schedule to face Wawrinka, whom Djokovic had defeated 20 times in the past, but lost 3/4 times in the finals (including 2 Grand Slam finals), in the 3rd round of the Wimbledon 2023 Men's Singles, Djokovic shared a half-joking, half-serious comment, but the aftertaste made people think...

“He took away two Grand Slam titles from me. That was his role in my career, beating me in two memorable Grand Slam finals,” he said as he looked ahead to his 27th match against the Swiss, whose form and fitness had declined after so many ups and downs.

No one was surprised when Djokovic easily defeated Wawrinka with a score of 6-3, 6-1 and 7-6 (7-5); thereby, having won the 21st match when facing the opponent who is also 38 years old and comes from Lausanne (Wawrinka is 2 years older than Djokovic). Of course, this victory will not be "enough" when Djokovic fails at the most important moments.

But at this point, when each person has their own status, status, importance and historical role, Djokovic will have nothing but admiration for Wawrinka: "I have to say, it's amazing what Stan has done and is doing. Still at his age, after a few injuries."

“We are two old guys trying to fight with the young guys. I think it is important to know that. It is amazing. It is inspiring. Like Andy Murray, he has been forced to drop down the rankings in the last few years and is still building his own position,” Djokovic shared his admiration.

“We had some great battles on the biggest stages in tennis. I have a lot of respect for Stan as a player, and I really like him as a person. He is an absolutely lovely guy. So I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”

While Wawrinka has been eliminated from Wimbledon, but will still be diligent in his professional tennis career in other tournaments, namely the US Open Series right after, Djokovic advanced to the fourth round, where he will play Hubert Hurkjacz (Poland, ATP rank 18), who beat Lorenzo Musetti (Italy, ATP rank 16) in another third round match.

In the past, Hurkacz has always been an easy prey for the “predator” Nole. Djokovic has faced his opponent from Wroclaw 5 times and won absolutely, including a very remarkable victory with a score of 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 and 6-4 in the third round of Wimbledon 2019. Djokovic is temporarily leading 5-0.

Speaking of Murray, the veteran British tennis player lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece, ATP 5th) with a dramatic score after 5 sets of 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-7 (3-7) and 4-6. This is the second consecutive time that Tsitsipas had to overcome an opponent who had won a Grand Slam in a 5-set match, spread over 2 consecutive days.

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