Stan Wawrinka hopes to ‘not get killed’ by Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon

Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 6, 2023 Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in action during his second round match against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge

Stan Wawrinka set up a Wimbledon third-round clash with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic on Thursday, hoping to “not get killed” by a rival he first faced 17 years ago.

The 38-year-old Wawrinka, who has won three Grand Slam titles, made the last 32 by seeing off Argentina’s 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

It will be his first time in the third round at the All England Club since 2015, when he went on to make the quarter-finals.

Wawrinka, now ranked at 88 after a lengthy battle with injuries, has only beaten Djokovic six times in 26 meetings.

However, they have never met on grass.

“I will enjoy it if I don’t get killed,” said Wawrinka. “Novak is an amazing champion. I am happy to get the chance to play him on grass before I finish my career.

“It will be a big challenge and I will have to play at a high level.”

Two of Wawrinka’s wins over Djokovic came in Grand Slam finals — at the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open.

The Swiss also beat the 23-time major winner in the last-eight of the 2014 Australian Open on his way to his maiden Slam triumph.

“He took away two Grand Slams from me. That’s the role he played, beating me in two Grand Slam finals,” joked Djokovic after booking his place in the third round on Wednesday.

“No, I like Stan a lot. He’s a great person. Really always inspirational what he’s doing at his age. He’s almost 40 years old and he still keeps going strong. That’s something that not many people can do.”

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