![\"Stan](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/130310321_stanwawrinka-696x392.jpg\" "\\"Stan")
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Veteran Stan Wawrinka set up a third-round Wimbledon match against reigning champion Novak Djokovic by toppling 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.<\/p>\n
Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, gained a 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory, but the 38-year-old does not expect to defeat Djokovic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully I can make it competitive, but if you look at recent results, I don\u2019t have a chance,\u201d said Wawrinka.<\/p>\n
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Elsewhere,\u00a0Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Matteo Berrettini<\/strong>\u00a0also won.<\/p>\n Wawrinka, from Switzerland and 88th in the world rankings, has won each of the Grand Slams apart than Wimbledon. He took the opening set against Argentine Etcheverry in just over 30 minutes on a packed court three.<\/p>\n Etcheverry fought back to level, but Wawrinka won the next two sets to set up a Centre Court meeting on Friday with 36-year-old Djokovic, a player he beat in the finals of the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy to have won and I think it was a great match \u2013 I\u2019m playing better each match,\u201d said Wawrinka.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be an honour to play Novak here. I was missing that in my career to play him in the Grand Slam in Wimbledon \u2013 it\u2019s going to be a difficult challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Zverev and Berrettini finally get to play first-round matches<\/strong><\/p>\n Rublev, the seventh seed, had to fight back from a set down to beat fellow Russian Aslan Karatsev 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-4 7-5 in another second-round match.<\/p>\n There were rain delays on each of the opening three days, meaning 17 first-round matches across the men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles still had to be completed on Thursday.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s Alexander Zverev was one of those players to have not seen any action in the opening three days and he gained a hard-fought 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) win over Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer on Court One.<\/p>\n Zverev, the former world number two but now the 19th seed, missed last year\u2019s tournament following a serious knee injury he sustained during the 2022 French Open semi-finals.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just happy to be back at Wimbledon,\u201d Zverev said. \u201cI missed it last year with a bad injury so just to be on this court I\u2019m happy to be here with 10,000 people.<\/p>\n \u201cWimbledon is the most historic tennis tournament in the world and maybe the most historic sporting event in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing involved is something special and I have definitely missed it.\u201d<\/p>\n Berrettini lost to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final two years ago and was another on first-round duty on Thursday, recording a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 win over fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego.<\/p>\n In round two, unseeded Berrettini will play 15th seed\u00a0Alex de Minaur<\/strong>\u00a0after the Australian beat Belgian qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-2).<\/p>\n There were also first-round wins for Chile\u2019s\u00a0Nicolas Jarry<\/strong>\u00a0and Spain\u2019s\u00a0Alejandro Davidovich Fokina,<\/strong>\u00a0the 25th and 31st seeds respectively.<\/p>\n In round two, Italy\u2019s\u00a0Lorenzo Musetti,<\/strong>\u00a0Kazakhstan\u2019s\u00a0Alexander Bublik<\/strong>\u00a0and Canada\u2019s\u00a0Denis Shapovalov,<\/strong>\u00a0seeded 14th, 23rd and 26th respectively, all gained straight-set victories.<\/p>\n Shapovalov will next play British wildcard Liam Broady after the Briton stunned fourth seed Casper Ruud in Thursday\u2019s opening match on Centre Court.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n