Djokovic notches 105th Wimbledon match win, Sinner eases past Brooksby

Novak Djokovic has spent the latter half of his glittering career equalling records set by former rival Roger Federer and the Serb was at it again as he notched up win number 105 at Wimbledon to reach the fourth round on Friday.

The 39-year-old, eyeing Federer's men's record eight Wimbledon singles crowns, suffered a third-set wobble against dangerous Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech and was pushed hard before closing out a 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) Centre Court victory.

Another one against Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin will take him to second alone on the all-time Wimbledon match win list behind only Martina Navratilova's 120.

The way Djokovic dispatched Stefanos Tsitsipas in a round-two masterclass proved that very few players can touch him on grass and it was a similar story against 30-year-old Rinderknech for the opening two sets on a sun-bathed Centre Court.

His precision shot-making and trademark elasticity had the crowd roaring their approval and Djokovic lapped it up.

Rinderknech was great value though, playing his full part in an absorbing duel littered with stunning rallies that sometimes had both players diving around the turf.

The 25th seed romped away with the third and came close to handing Djokovic his first 6-0 bagel set at Wimbledon.

Dialling up the power and accuracy of his serve, Rinderknech suddenly became a real threat but Djokovic steadied the ship and played a flawless fourth-set tiebreak.

Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title defence gathered pace as the world number one swept aside American Jenson Brooksby 6-4 6-3 6-4 to enter the fourth round and reinforce his status as the man to beat at the All England Club.

Having been dragged into a five-set battle in his opener and forced to negotiate two tiebreaks in the next, the Italian looked increasingly at home on the grass of Court One and gave Brooksby very few opportunities to disrupt his rhythm.

The 24-year-old got down to business with little interest in another energy-sapping encounter on a warm afternoon, grabbing a break for a 4-3 lead after Brooksby sent his forehand long, and then motoring through the opening set in only 37 minutes.

World number 81 Brooksby looked to mix it up and drew Sinner to the net more in the next set, but there would be no payoff as the four-times Grand Slam champion countered it with his superb movement and swiftly doubled his lead in the match.

A blistering backhand winner helped Brooksby break first in the next set but top seed Sinner responded immediately and held his nerve after dropping serve late on for a last 16 meeting with Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki.

Eighth seed Daniil Medvedev, a semi-finalist in 2024, suffered a surprise third-round exit when Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, ranked 74th, beat him 7-6(4) 7-6(5) 7-5 despite the Russian holding at least a break lead in all three sets.