Wimbledon 2023: Stan Wawrinka looks forward to facing Novak Djokovic. He doesn’t expect to beat him

So for that reason, three-time major champion Wawrinka was pleased to see that he’ll meet 23-time major champion Djokovic in the third round at the All England Club on Friday.

But don’t think for a second Wawrinka believes he can win this matchup.

“Hopefully I can make a competitive match,” Wawrinka said, “but if you will look at recent results, I don’t really stand a chance.”

Sure, Wawrinka beat Djokovic in the 2015 French Open final and again in the 2016 U.S. Open final. Wawrinka, now 38, also has defeated Djokovic, 36, at the Australian Open.

But overall, Djokovic leads their head-to-head series by a 20-6 count. WHEN ARE FRIDAY’S MATCHES?
Djokovic-Wawrinka will be last on Centre Court, which means they could get started at about 8 p.m. local time, which is 3 p.m. EDT. The schedule starts in the main stadium at 1:30 p.m. local time (or 8:30 a.m. EDT) with No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz against Alexandre Muller, followed by the conclusion of Andy Murray’s match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, which was halted after Murray took a two-sets-to-one-lead on Thursday night. Next at Centre Court comes No. 1 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 30 Petra Martic.

WHAT WERE THURSDAY’S RESULTS?
Alexander Zverev finally got on court and finally wrapped up the first round with a victory. Other men’s winners included 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini, Andrey Rublev, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul. Women advancing included No. 4 Jessica Pegula, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, Donna Vekic and 16-year-old qualifier Mirra Andreeva.