LONDON: Late in his opening set Wimbledon third round match, Novak Djokovicslightly off balance, flung himself to his right to meet a volley, placing it perfectly for a winner. Seconds later, the soft-spoken 39-year-old was back on his feet, bowing to Center Court before turning to the crowd and asking for more love. In the stands, his son Stefan jumped in animated celebration, completing what was increasingly becoming a Djokovic show.More than three hours later, after 225 points and 41 games of gripping tennis, Djokovic took another bow. This time, he and his opponent Arthur Rinderknech collapsed on the grass after the Serbian hit a winner past the giant Frenchman to seal the win. Djokovic was the first to return to his feet, walking around the net to hug and praise Rinderknech, nine years his junior, whose fearless performance pushed the 24-hour major champion further than he wanted.Djokovic, who walked out wearing his GOAT blazer looking every inch the seven-time Wimbledon champion, moved at the right moments to claim a 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) victory over the 30-year-old Frenchman and book his place in the fourth round, where he will face world No.“A bit of luck, a bit of skill, in the end,” Djokovic said when asked how he got the job done. “It was a pointless tie-break from my side. I did everything I could. I think I served very well, just in the tie-break. For most of the match, I struggled with that serve.”“But it’s also because of his quality. He’s very tall, he hit some amazing serves. It was a very tiring, very close match. Sometimes you just have to find a way to win, and I’m glad I did that today.”Friday’s win, which featured 107 winners — 67 of them from Rinderknech — saw Djokovic draw level on Roger FedererHis record of 105 singles matches won in the men’s draw at Wimbledon. The pair trails only Martina Navratilova, who holds the all-time mark with 120 grass-court major victories.At this stage of his career, Djokovic prefers to conserve energy. The seven-time champion said he hopes his body continues to cooperate as the tournament continues.“I think I did everything I needed to do today, in conditions that might not have been as good for me as they were in the second round, and it was still enough to win,” he said. “At this age and stage of my career, every day brings something new and unpredictable for me. I hope that I will come out at my best in a few days.”
Fonseca, Jodar bowed
It wasn’t the best of days for the two 19-year-olds left in the men’s draw. Rafael Jodar and Joao Fonseca, the 23rd and 24th seeded, were both defeated by qualifiers Shintaro Mochizuki and Safiullin.Fonseca, exhausted from the day’s action and shot-making, looked like a man forced to act without his morning coffee as he bowed out 3-6, 3-6, 3-6 to comeback man Safiullin.Safiullin, who is high in the ranking of No. 36 and reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2023, had to cut his 2025 season short in September after injuring his knee. He arrived at this year’s championship without a tour-level win in 2026. But after battling through qualifying, the Russian strung together three strong victories, against Andrey Rublev, Botic van de Zandschulp and now Fonseca, to book his place in the round-of-16.On the other hand, Jodar lost 6-1, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 4-6 to Shintaro Mochizuki, the world no. 151.