Novak Djokovic wins 350th career Grand Slam match

With each victory, Novak Djokovic gets closer to completing a calendar-year Grand Slam—while filling the sport's record books with more jaw-dropping statistics.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion took another step forward on Wednesday with a three-set win over Jordan Thompson, putting him into the third round of Wimbledon. That wouldn't normally register as significant for the four-time defending champ, except that it was Djokovic's 350th career win at a major.

The victory also marked Djokovic's 30th consecutive win at SW19.

On Monday, following his first-round win over Pedro Cachin, Djokovic improved to 40-0 in his last 40 matches on Centre Court.

Make that 41-0.

"We have a romantic and very special relationship," the 36-year-old said with a smile when asked about his remarkable record in the venerable venue.

Thompson, who after his first-round win told TENNIS.com's Ravi Ubha, “I’ve got to believe, as silly as it sounds, that I can win or else there is no point going out there. I know the odds are firmly against me,” did all that could have been asked against Djokovic. He fired 21 aces, he struck 43 winners against 20 unforced errors, and certainly exuded the belief that he belonged on the game's biggest stage with the game's best player.

Yet he still lost in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-5.

“I’ve seen a few guys have nightmares out there against him on Centre Court,” says Thompson of Djokovic. “But hopefully that won’t be the case for me.”

Given the circumstances, a case could be made that both players came away as winners.

Djokovic moves on to the third round—when some players haven't even played their first-round matches—and will face either No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry or, perhaps even more dangerous, unseeded Stan Wawrinka.

Novak is 20-6 lifetime against the 38-year-old Swiss, but they've played just twice since the 2016 US Open final, when Wawrinka won in four sets. Wawrinka won their next encounter, at the 2019 US Open, when Djokovic retired; Djokovic won their most recent meeting, in Rome last year, 6-2, 6-2.

"Wawrinka took away two Slams from me," Djokovic said with a laugh. "I like him a lot. It’s inspirational what he’s still doing after injuries and surgeries. He had a fantastic career, achived a lot, but still goes on."

Etcheverry, 23, has played Djokovic once, at Rome this year. Djokovic prevailed, 7-6 (5), 6-2.