(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Stan Wawrinka says playing Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon will be an enjoyable experience if he “does not get killed” by the Serb. Wawrinka, 38, defeated Tomas Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 to set up a Wimbledon third-round meeting against his old rival Djokovic.
On Friday, Wawrinka and Djokovic will be meeting for the 27th time in their respective careers. Going into the match, Djokovic owns a 20-6 head-to-head record against Wawrinka. When they met in Rome last year, Djokovic dismantled Wawrinka 6-2 6-2.
This upcoming meeting will be their first-ever match on the grass and Wawrinka highlighted this is going to be a big challenge for him.
Wawrinka: I’ll enjoy it if I don’t get killed by Djokovic
“I will enjoy it if I don’t get killed.
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,” Wawrinka said.A day earlier, Djokovic showed major respect and appreciation for Wawrinka when asked about the possibility of playing the Swiss at Wimbledon.“Well, he took away two Grand Slams from me.
That’s the role he played, beating me in two Grand Slam finals (smiling). 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. After several surgeries of his knees, he keeps going strong and trying to create some more history for himself and tennis. We cannot forget that he’s a three-time Grand Slam champion and Davis Cup winner and also Olympic gold.
He had a fantastic career,” Djokovic said of Wawrinka.Djokovic is a very dominant force on the grass, while it is not a secret that the grass has never been Wawrinka’s favorite surface. Going into their Wimbledon match, there is no doubt that Djokovic is the absolute favorite against Wawrinka.
