Novak Djokovic equals Pete Sampras' Wimbledon tally of consecutive match wins, now trails only Borg and Federer

Novak Djokovic's ongoing run at this year's Wimbledon Championships has seen him equal Pete Sampras' tally of consecutive match wins at SW19. He is now third on the list in the Open Era for most consecutive Wimbledon match wins, trailing only Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer.

Novak Djokovic brushed aside Stan Wawrinka in the third round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(5). The triumph was the Serb's 31st consecutive win at Wimbledon, equalling Pete Sampras, who stitched together 31 wins himself from the 1997 Championships until the fourth round of the 2001 Championships. In that fourth round match, Sampras lost to a certain 19-year-old Roger Federer 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6(2)-7, 7-5.

During his reign of supremacy in London, Sampras won Wimbledon finals against Cedric Pioline (1997), Goran Ivansevic (1998), Andre Agassi (1999), and Patrick Rafter (2000). Sampras won a total of seven Wimbledon titles in his career and 14 Grand Slam titles overall.

The record for most consecutive wins at Wimbledon is held by Bjorn Borg, who put together 41 victories from 1976 to 1981. Roger Federer stands second on the list, with 40 consecutive wins from 2003 to 2008.

Djokovic has not been defeated at Wimbledon since the 2017 quarterfinal, when he retired against Tomas Berdych. Since then, he has lifted four Wimbledon titles, defeating Kevin Anderson (2018), Roger Federer (2019), Matteo Berrettini (2021), and Nick Kyrgios (2022) in the respective finals.

In 2023, Djokovic is on the cusp of breaking yet another record, perhaps the biggest one in tennis history: the most number of Grand Slam titles by any player, male or female. The 36-year-old claimed his 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2023 Roland Garros event, equaling Serena Willams for most singles Grand Slam titles by any player in the Open Era.

If he manages to lift the title at this year's Wimbledon, Djokovic will go one-up on the now-retired Williams. He will also equal Roger Federer's record of 8 Wimbledon titles, the most by any male player in the Open Era.

Novak Djokovic faces Hubert Hurkacz in R4 at Wimbledon 2023

Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships

Novak Djokovic can overtake Pete Sampras' consecutive match-win tally if he goes past Hubert Hurkacz, his fourth-round opponent at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. The World No. 2 has faced Hurkacz five times before, claiming all five matches and only dropping one set.

The two men most recently met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships, where the Serb came out on top 6-3, 7-5. Djokovic and Hurkacz also faced each other in the third round of Wimbledon 2019, which was the only time the Pole was able to take a set off Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic is yet to drop a set at this year's Wimbledon Championships, and it will be a tall task for Hurkacz to reverse that trend, let alone win the match. Hubert Hurkacz, the No. 17 seed, defeated Lorenzo Mussetti, the No. 14 seed, in the second round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.