It's not just Novak Djokovic. Marin Cilic and other 30-somethings make their mark at Wimbledon
Gael Monfils, who was born about eight months before Djokovic and is the only player in the men's draw who's older, was waiting for the start of his second-round match.
"He kind of smiled at me and said, 'Good day in the office,'" Djokovic recounted. "At this age, he said, we need those types of days."
Thursday was certainly a good day for the old guard at Wimbledon.
At a time when the new generation — led by Carlos Alcaraz, 22, and Jannik Sinner, 23 — is starting to take over, there will be six men in the third round who are 33 or older. (Monfils' match against Marton Fucsovics, 33, was suspended because of darkness Thursday and will be completed Friday).
On Thursday, Djokovic beat 35-year-old Dan Evans; the 34-year-old Gregor Dimitrov ousted Corentin Moutet; 35-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff finished off a win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in a match that had been suspended on Wednesday; and 36-year-old Marin Cilic beat British No. 4 seed Jack Draper, who's 23. The 37-year-old Adrian Mannarino advanced Wednesday.
And, as Struff pointed out, those turn-back-the-clock performances came after yet another 38-year-old, Fabio Fognini, pushed two-time defending champion Alcaraz to five sets in the first round.
"It's amazing," said Struff, who faces Alcaraz on Centre Court on Friday. "You see a lot of older players playing good tennis. So that motivates me, as well, to keep going."
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