Two things that stood out in Novak Djokovic's 3R win over Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon 2023

Second seed Novak Djokovic beat Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(5) in the third round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships on Friday, July 7. The match lasted around two hours, as the Serb dismantled the Swiss, who has often proved to be his nemesis in Grand Slam tournaments.

The 23-time Major champion is now four games away from a record-equalling (with Roger Federer) eighth Wimbledon title. He will face Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the fourth round on Sunday, July 9.

On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:

#1. Novak Djokovic raced through the first two sets as Stan Wawrinka was error-prone

Novak Djokovic was on the verge of a great start to the match as he had three break points in the second game of the first set. However, Stan Wawrinka saved them and went on to hold his serve. Still, the three-time Grand Slam champion could not stop the Serb from getting another break of serve and winning the set.

Djokovic was even more ruthless in the second set, breaking the World No. 88 twice and winning it with consummate ease to take a 2-0 lead and a vice-like grip on the match. The match was all but finished after the second set, as the Swiss player was never going to stage a comeback against the World No. 2 from two sets down.

There were a lot of crosscourt exchanges between the two, but Wawrinka failed in executing the down-the-line shots to the open court. He hit a number of his down-the-line shots wide and refrained from using them much in the later stages.

The seven-time Wimbledon winner, meanwhile, was usually the first to pull the trigger down the line, as the Swiss struggled to make it work and reap the benefits of it.

#2. Wawrinka fought better in the third set, but Djokovic won in tiebreak

Djokovic started using the drop shots more frequently from the second set onwards to drag the Swiss to the net and then win points through volleys and lobs. However, Wawrinka served better in the third set and forced a tiebreak. A few of his down-the-line backhand winners were reminiscent of the past.

Still, the Serb once again demonstrated his mental toughness in the tie-break, overturning a 3-5 deficit to win 7-5. The No. 2 seed once again served with great dexterity and did not have to face a single break point in the entire match.

Wawrinka, meanwhile, had a poor first-serve percentage of 42 in the match and faced nine break points, out of which four were converted by his opponent.