Ageless Novak Djokovic added another chapter to his remarkable Wimbledon legacy on Friday, claiming his 105th victory at the All England Club to reach the fourth round, while top seed Jannik Sinner delivered his most convincing performance yet as his title defense gathered momentum.
The 39-year-old Djokovic, chasing a men's record-tying eighth Wimbledon crown and a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, overcame France's Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) with another masterclass on Centre Court.
World No. 1 Sinner, who could face Djokovic in the semifinals, had been building steadily into the tournament but found another gear against American Jenson Brooksby, cruising to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory to underline his growing confidence on grass.
Away from the spotlight, Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime quietly continued his impressive run, defeating American Michael Zheng 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-1 to set up a fourth-round clash with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka also moved ominously into the last 16, comfortably dispatching Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-4 in a high-octane Centre Court duel.
Sabalenka's bid for a first Wimbledon title faces a major test next against Japan's Naomi Osaka, who paired her flair off the court with growing confidence on it to thrash Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 and reach the last 16 for the first time.
Coco Gauff, another Grand Slam champion for whom Wimbledon has proved a tricky puzzle to solve, scrambled into the fourth round past fellow American Claire Liu, winning 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 after squandering match points in the second set.
Iva Jovic, one of 15 Americans to advance to the third round of the singles draws, continued to impress as the 18-year-old beat experienced Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
But it was the end of the road for two 19-year-old dark horses in the men's draw as Brazil's Joao Fonseca and Spain's Rafael Jodar received reality checks in defeats to qualifiers.
Fonseca, the 24th seed, was outplayed by Russia's Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, while Jodar fell to Japan's Shintaro Mochizuki 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic will face Safiullin next, when he could take sole possession of second place on the all-time Wimbledon match wins list, moving ahead of Roger Federer, whom he matched on Friday while also equaling the Swiss great's record of 18 fourth-round appearances.
"I propose a match-up between me and Roger for 106," seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic joked in his on-court interview after celebrating the win with some "dad dancing" for his laughing daughter, Tara.
"Let's just stop it here and call Roger to come."
For two sets, Djokovic had all the answers against the dangerous 25th-seeded Rinderknech, who last year stunned Alexander Zverev in the opening round.
Djokovic's precision shot-making and trademark elasticity had the crowd roaring its approval, and the Serb lapped it up, at one point offering a regal bow after a diving volley winner.
But things took an unexpected turn as Rinderknech romped through the third set, coming within two points of handing Djokovic his first 6-0 set loss at Wimbledon.
Djokovic was pushed to the limit in the fourth set and needed a flawless tiebreak to end Rinderknech's resistance, with both players ending up on the court on match point.
Sinner has improved since his first-round scare against Miomir Kecmanovic, and he looked dominant against Brooksby.
"Trying to move better. Return today was a little bit better. So all things considered, today was a small step forward," said Sinner, who faces 151st-ranked Shintaro Mochizuki next and cannot face a seeded player until the semifinals.
Eighth seed Daniil Medvedev could have been a quarterfinal opponent for Sinner, but the Russian went down 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-5 to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.
Sabalenka's clash with 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko was expected to provide some fireworks, but she enjoyed a relatively routine victory.
"She is really dangerous. Last match I played against her, I couldn't do anything, she just smashed me off the court," Sabalenka, who is yet to drop a set, said on court.
"The plan is to get better every day. A little better level every time I am competing on this beautiful grass."
She may need another gear against fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka.
"I'm ready to fight and do whatever it takes to get through," Sabalenka said.
American fourth seed Jessica Pegula continued to work her way through the draw as she beat Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, while 11th seed Belinda Bencic needed a deciding-set tiebreak to edge past Anna Kalinskaya.
Barbora Krejcikova, the 2024 Wimbledon champion, defeated Nikola Bartunkova 6-3, 7-5 and will next face fellow Czech and 10th seed Karolina Muchova, who ended the run of Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-2, 7-6 (1).
