Novak Djokovic (8th, Serbia) continued his quest for a record-extending 25th major title by advancing to the third round of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships (total prize money of 64.2 million pounds).

On the third day of the tournament, held at the All England Club in London, England, on July 1 (local time), Djokovic secured a dominant 3-0 (6-3, 6-4, 6-2) victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas (87th, Greece) in just 1 hour and 38 minutes in the men's singles second round.

Unlike his challenging first-round match against Yibing Wu (102nd, China), Djokovic completely overwhelmed Tsitsipas.

He hit 33 winners (compared to 25 from Tsitsipas) while committing only 7 unforced errors (compared to 24 from Tsitsipas).

After forcing an opponent error to secure a crucial break point at 4-4 in the second set, he went on to win eight of the next ten games to cruise to victory.

Djokovic, who has now extended his winning streak against Tsitsipas to 12 matches, will face Arthur Rinderknech (25th, France) in the third round.

This will be their first career meeting.

With this win, Djokovic recorded his 104th career victory at Wimbledon, moving one step closer to Roger Federer's (Switzerland) record of 105 wins, the most in men's singles in the Open Era (since 1968).

The 39-year-old Djokovic is aiming for his 8th Wimbledon singles title and the historic milestone of 25 major titles.

Earlier this year at the French Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the third round by 19-year-old Joao Fonseca (27th, Brazil) after squandering a two-set lead.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner (1st, Italy) also advanced to the third round, though his performance was less convincing.


Sinner defeated Nuno Borges (48th, Portugal) 3-0 (7-6<7-4> 7-6<7-2> 6-4) after a 2-hour and 32-minute battle in the second round.

After coming back from a two-set deficit in the first round, Sinner once again found himself in tight contests that went to tie-breaks in both the first and second sets.

"There are things I need to improve. There were moments where I had to find my rhythm," Sinner reflected.

Sinner's opponent in the third round will be Jenson Brooksby (81st, USA).

In the women's singles, 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova (38th, Czech Republic) defeated this year's French Open champion Mirra Andreeva (5th, Russia) 2-1 (4-6, 7-5, 6-4).

Krejcikova is the winner of the 2021 French Open and the 2024 Wimbledon title.

Although her ranking had dropped to 38th due to back and knee injuries, she signaled a resurgence by defeating the most recent major champion.

Andreeva, who was unable to hide her frustration after failing to convert six match point opportunities before ultimately losing, threw her racket as she left the court.

Early in the third set, a bead bracelet worn by Andreeva broke, leading to an unusual scene where two ball kids and the umpire had to help pick up the scattered beads.

Meanwhile, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus), Coco Gauff (7th, USA), and Naomi Osaka (14th, Japan) also cruised into the third round.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)