Wawrinka proves his mettle to set up Djokovic clash at Wimbledon

Britain's Liam Broady stuns Casper Ruud on Thursday

Stan Wawrinka during the Wimbledon second round match against Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. EPA

Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years as the 38-year-old Swiss knocked out seeded Argentine Tomas Etcheverry on Thursday to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

Wawrinka, in the twilight of his career, proved too good for a player 15 years his junior as he claimed a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory on a sunny Court Three.

It was the first time Wawrinka has reached the third round of a Grand Slam for three years and his reward is a box-office duel with defending champion Novak Djokovic.

The 88th-ranked Wawrinka, who has extended his career despite issues with his knees, had lost in the first or second round of his last six Grand Slam tournaments.

"It's a long time that I didn't win too much at Grand Slams," Wawrinka said.

"I've been working hard to get back to a better level and I'm happy with the way I'm coming up."

However, Wawrinka was realistic about his chances in the tournament.

"There's zero opportunity to win Wimbledon for me, I think," he said. "I'm happy to have won today again. I think it was a great match. I'm playing better each match and I think it's an honour to play Novak here.

"I was missing that on my career to play him in the grand slam in Wimbledon. It's going to be a difficult challenge. Hopefully I can make a competitive match, but, if you will look at recent results, I don't really stand a chance."

Meanwhile, Liam Broady outlasted world No 4 Casper Ruud in five sets for a career-best win that sent him through to the third round at Wimbledon.

Broady had to dig deep to fight back from two sets to one down but - carried by a buoyant Centre Court crowd - he clinched an excellent 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory in three hours and 27 minutes.

Ruud had made the finals of Roland Garros and the US Open during the past 12 months and yet had no answers to Broady's mixture of flamboyance and grit, with this win sending the world No 142 through to the third round for a second year in a row.

Also, Germany's Alexander Zverev fired 20 aces past Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer to move into the second round with a hard-earned 6-4, 7-6,(4), 7-6 (5) win.

In the women's section, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Elina Svitolina continued her excellent run in Grand Slams following her maternity break as the Ukrainian wildcard downed 28th seed Elise Mertens 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 to move into the third round.

Svitolina, who returned to the tour in April following the birth of her daughter in October 2022, reached the French Open quarter-finals last month and proved too good for five-times champion Venus Williams in her Wimbledon opener.

"I enjoy so much being on the court, getting this chance to play in front of an amazing crowd in such an amazing event," Svitolina said.

"I'll try to accept what's coming my way though sometimes there can be tough days. I know my family is there supporting me and enjoying every single moment I get to play in such an amazing event."