Novak Djokovic Creates History, Beats Roger Federer's Record Of...

Novak Djokovic, a man relentlessly chasing history, stormed into the third round of Wimbledon for a record 19th time on Thursday, breaking yet another milestone previously held by the legendary Roger Federer. The Serbian great dismantled Dan Evans with a commanding 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 victory, marking his 99th win at the oldest Grand Slam tournament.

The victory propelled Djokovic past the Swiss maestro for the most third-round appearances by a man at SW19. Ever the showman, Djokovic couldn’t resist a playful jab at the next generation. “Nineteen times, that’s a great stat," he quipped. “That is probably almost as much as Sinner and Alcaraz have years in their lives." For context, Carlos Alcaraz, who has bested Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, is 22, while the current world No. 1, Jannik Sinner, is 23.

Despite his ever-growing list of accolades, which includes the most titles on Centre Court by a male player, Djokovic admitted he rarely pauses to reflect on his achievements. “I would like to," he confessed, “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."

The match against Evans wasn’t without its initial frustrations. Djokovic failed to convert his first nine break points in the opening set. But once he secured the breakthrough for a 5-3 lead—raising both arms to the sky in a gesture of “finally"—the floodgates opened. He was ruthlessly efficient, converting five of his next six break point opportunities.

“You have these kinds of days where everything goes your way," said Djokovic, who didn’t face a single break point until the final game. “Everything flows."

Now, with an eighth Wimbledon trophy and a 25th Grand Slam title firmly in his sights, Djokovic is set to face fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round on Saturday.

In other action around the All England Club, seventh-seeded Mirra Andreeva and No. 10 Emma Navarro both advanced with convincing straight-set wins. The 18-year-old Andreeva dispatched Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 7-6 (4), while Navarro made quick work of Veronika Kudermetova, 6-1, 6-2. The 2022 Wimbledon champion, No. 11 Elena Rybakina, also moved on, defeating Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1.

On the men’s side, Alex de Minaur battled back to overcome Arthur Cazaux 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0, and Grigor Dimitrov outlasted Corentin Moutet in a hard-fought 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 contest.