The duel of the veterans, Novak Djokovic billed it – the 36-year-old seven-time Wimbledon champion up against 38-year-old Stan Wawrinka, twice the Serb’s conqueror in a Grand Slam final with a third major trophy in his cabinet to boot, for a place in the last 16.

“I’ve got zero chance,” forecast Wawrinka. A cunning tactical mind game ahead of their 27th career meeting and their first Grand Slam encounter in almost four years? Alas, no. An assessment of crystalline accuracy, it turned out.

Ten years to the day after he last experienced Centre Court defeat, Djokovic rolled the Swiss 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(5) in two hours and seven minutes to earn his place in the fourth round. Hubert Hurkacz will be the next opponent tasked with derailing Djokovic’s 31-match winning streak on grass.

“It’s amazing what Stan is doing still at his age after several surgeries,” Djokovic told the Centre Court crowd, adding to laughter: “We’re two old guys! And fighting with the young guns, it’s important to acknowledge that. It’s amazing, inspiring.

“Like Andy [Murray], he was forced to drop down the rankings and in the last couple of years he’s been trying to build back. I respect Stan a lot as a player and I really love him as a person. He’s an extremely nice guy and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.

“He was two points from extending this match to another day. It looked really good for me in the first two sets but he raised his level and I dropped mine.

“Now I need to focus all my physical and emotional energy into the next match. Hubie has a tremendously powerful serve and is very tough on the big occasion. My thoughts are directed only to him. I can always play better. I always have a couple of gears in me that I can take higher and keep playing better.”

Djokovic and Wawrinka waited all day to get underway, and the Centre Court crowd was ecstatic with anticipation as battle commenced under the closed roof at 8.39pm.

From the start Wawrinka was fending off break points – hardly surprising against the sport’s great returner of serve, given that just 35 per cent of his first deliveries were finding the target.

At 2-3 not even the divine signature backhand could keep him in the punishing rally which allowed Djokovic to break, paving the way to the first set.

It was a sharp reminder that this is the only Grand Slam crown to elude Wawrinka. His best here was a brace of quarter-finals in 2014 and 2015, back in the peak years which saw him climb to world No.3. Now ranked 88, Wawrinka is still the Swiss No.1, hungrily fighting back after years of knee and foot surgeries relegated him to 361 a little over a year ago.

But in this match Djokovic had his eye on the clock, keen to get the job done before the 11pm curfew. Ultimately he would shake Wawrinka’s hand with 14 minutes to spare.

From the start of the second set Djokovic was simply pouring on the pressure again, even as Wawrinka’s first serve deserted him.

Unexpectedly the Swiss regrouped for the third set to compile a stiffer challenge. Djokovic could scarcely land a punch on Wawrinka’s serve, and once the Serb was left splayed on the sacred turf legs akimbo as he lunged in vain for the ball.

Wawrinka pushed on into the tie-break, and the contest surged one way and then the other as each delivered mistakes. But from 3-5, Wawrinka wavered and Djokovic would not be denied.

The Swiss can take satisfaction from having achieved his first Wimbledon match wins in four years. But he last visited the fourth round here in 2015. Against another opponent he might have reached that bridgehead once more.

As it is, the lowest ranked player to have defeated Djokovic at Wimbledon remains No.75 Marat Safin, back in the ancient days of 2008, when the Serb was still three years shy of his first title here. In 2023 the No.2 seed marches on, eyes fixed on an eighth Wimbledon crown.

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