Beating Djokovic at an event where he is also seeking to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record of eight titles is a lot to ask of Wawrinka, in spite of his prior efforts. With his win over Etcheverry, the Lausanne native went over the .500 mark in grass-court matches at 34-33. Djokovic has more than triple the wins and considerably fewer losses with his 111-18 career mark on the surface. The 36-year-old has claimed his last 29 Wimbledon matches and has posted 40 consecutive wins on Centre Court, a stretch that spans a decade. The facts don't lie, according to Wawrinka.
“There's zero opportunity to win Wimbledon for me,” the current world No. 88 declared.
“I'm playing better each match, and as I say, I think it's an honor to play Novak here. I was missing that on my career to play him in the Grand Slam in Wimbledon. That's the last I never played him, and it's going to be a difficult challenge. Hopefully I can make a competitive match, but if you will look at recent results, I don't really stand a chance.”
The two have met just once in post-pandemic era, a 6-2, 6-2 dismissal handed down by Djokovic in Rome last season. The No. 2 seed, who is 4-4 in his eight Grand Slam showdowns with Wawrinka, wanted to see the matchup come to fruition.
“I hope we get to play against each other because we haven't faced in quite some time. It will be the duel of the veterans of the tour if it comes to that,” Djokovic said. “One of the nicest one-handed backhands that I have ever played against, ever seen. Very powerful player. Very strong. Very complete. He can play equally well on all surfaces.”
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