He always has to do it the hard way, Novak Djokovic, but with the rise of the next generation of great tennis entertainers, the 39-year-old just cannot help himself in wowing the Wimbledon crowd once more.
His latest feat was besting Arthur Rinderknech in four sets on Centre Court, almost dropping the third set on purpose just to add a bit of intrigue as he chases an eighth title at the All England Club.
Such has the Serb’s dominance been over the past decade, he now sees himself level with the darling of Centre Court, Roger Federer, in the record books.
The Swiss leads the way for total men’s match wins at the All England Club, on 105, and Djokovic, at the ripe age of 39, moved on par with the eight-time champion on the hallowed south London turf with a 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) victory over the 25th seed.
“I propose a match-up between me and Roger for 106,” Djokovic said afterwards. “Let’s just stop it here and call Roger to come!”
As he did against Yibing Wu and Stefanos Tsitsipas before, the Serb took his time to warm up - not just himself, but the adoring crowd, who have, since the retirement of three of the ‘Big Four’, done quite the 360 in their opinion of the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
While Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Federer were playing, he was seen as the pantomime villain - which of course, he leaned into in spades - and that drove him to claim the record for total major titles in the entire men’s division, fuelled by a deep-rooted hurt and confusion as to why he was not as adored as his counterparts.
But since their departures from the top table of the men’s game, Djokovic has endeared himself at long last with the British crowd, who are lacking in a real shining light of their own after Murray’s retirement and Jack Draper’s persistent injury problems.
They have warmed to him, and he them, and that has been on show for all to see in his opening few matches of this 2026 Championships. He jokingly requested a wedding invitation from a happy couple who had just got engaged in the stands during his first-round victory over Wu, and against Rinderknech, he sent a kiss to the heavens after a fortuitous net cord and he bowed after his latest daring dive-volley. a shot that would send him into the last 16 to face Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin.
And while the pendulum swung continuously from side to side as the sun beat down on Centre Court, Djokovic refused to let the crowd’s shifting support faze him as he dropped the fourth set in stunning fashion - broken twice - as Rinderknech enjoyed a resurgence that had looked so unlikely deep in the second set.
The Frenchman attempted to replicate what Sergiy Stakhovsky had done so brilliantly back in 2013 to oust Federer in the second round, at times producing a serve-and-volley masterclass when he got into full flow.
But ultimately, as the fourth set looked destined for a tiebreak, the crowd, and the match momentum, swung back in the seven-time champion’s favour.
As soon as the scoreboard showed 6-6, there was only one man that was winning the match, and it was Djokovic, who got the job done in the only way he knows how - as the showman that gives you that hint of nostalgia. The ‘Big Four’ live on, thanks to him.
