Completing the match simply earlier than the 11pm curfew hit, the defending champion beat Wawrinka for the twenty first time, through a third-set tiebreak.

The match didn't start till 8.40pm, an hour later than Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas bought below manner on Thursday, however Djokovic completed a 6-3 6-1 7-6 (5) victory with 14 minutes to spare.

His thirty first consecutive match win at Wimbledon despatched him into the final 16 of a Grand Slam for the 61st time wherein he'll face Poland's seventeenth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka, two years older than Djokovic at 38, was decreased to the roll of spectator at instances as his opponent's laser-guided floor strokes situated traces with relentless accuracy of their first assembly on grass.

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The opening 4 video games had been shared, providing the followers hope {that a} heavyweight battle would possibly develop between two gamers who had been assembly for the ninth time in Grand Slams, two of which had been finals wherein Wawrinka triumphed.

But Wawrinka was then left feeding on crumbs as Djokovic turned the screw to supply the ruthless tennis that makes scary viewing for anybody hoping to stall his bid to equal Margaret Court's 24 Grand Slams and Roger Federer's eight Wimbledon crowns.

With the Centre Court roof closed and the lights on, Djokovic took the second set in half an hour.

Wawrinka didn't exit with a whimper and, with the group in his nook, he cranked up his energy within the third set and at last started to punch a number of holes in Djokovic's armour.

With the clock ticking in the direction of cut-off level, the identical one which had snagged Andy Murray's cost in opposition to Stefanos Tsitsipas the earlier night, Djokovic lastly seemed much less invincible and was pushed right into a tiebreak when he sliced a backhand volley broad.

Wawrinka led 5-3 within the breaker with closing time looming however Djokovic hit again to earn himself Saturday off.

Additional reporting by Reuters.