Six men aged 33 and older reached the Wimbledon third round
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTAfter wrapping up an impressive 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Daniel Evans in the Wimbledon second round on Thursday, Novak Djokovic bumped into fellow 38-year-old Gaël Monfils, who was getting ready to step on court for his own match.
“He kind of smiled at me and said, ‘Good day in the office’. At this age, he said, ‘We need those types of days’,” said Djokovic with a chuckle.
While Monfils ended up losing his match in five sets (over two days), there are five other men aged 33 or over who have joined Djokovic in the third round at the All England Club this week.
Marin Cilic, 36, upset fourth-seeded Jack Draper.
Jan-Lennard Struff, 35, knocked out 25th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Grigor Dimitrov, 34, claimed his first win in three meetings with Corentin Moutet.
Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 37, made it through the qualifying rounds and took out his 24-year-old compatriot Valentin Royer to reach the last-32 (before losing to Andrey Rublev on Friday).
And Marton Fucsovics, 33, dismissed Monfils.
At a time where a 23-year-old Jannik Sinner and a 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz are dominating at the majors – they’ve combined to win the last six Grand Slams – the members of the so-called ‘old guard’ remain as motivated as ever and are out to make a statement.
“If I play like today, I feel like I have a very good chance against anybody, really, on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, a place where I maybe feel the most comfortable on any court. Rod Laver Arena and Wimbledon Centre Court are the two courts where I've done so well throughout my career,” said Djokovic, who is a seven-time Wimbledon champion, on Thursday after his win over Evans.
“I felt great physically, mentally sharp. Game-wise, I'm playing as well as I can, really, on grass. So hopefully I can keep it up.
“I'm trying to be cautious and keep it going. But yeah, aspirations and objectives are very high to go all the way.”
Cilic, a champion at the US Open in 2014 and a finalist at Wimbledon in 2017, has been on the brink of retirement on multiple occasions due to injuries, including a hard-to-diagnose knee issue that required two surgeries.
Playing his first Wimbledon since 2021, Cilic dashed home hopes with an impressive four-set win over Draper to book a third round against Jaume Munar.
This time last year, Cilic was ranked outside the top 1000. He arrived at SW19 this fortnight at 83 in the world and will go even higher when the new rankings are released after the Championships.
Cilic, who won the Nottingham Challenger on grass in the build-up to Wimbledon, was proud of how well he executed against Draper. The 36-year-old Croat noted how tough it is to preserve one’s body to enjoy such a long career.
“We've been so used to, in those, let's say, 10 years ago where the average age was 30-plus in the top 100. Now the new generation came. Lots of players that are born in the '90s, beginning of the 2000s,” said Cilic.
“Yes, it's great to see them (the older players) playing, continuing to play well, and use this experience to play great in Grand Slams. Quite a lot of these guys that you mentioned (like Djokovic and Dimitrov) have been really diligent throughout their career to take care of their body, to be very professional. It gives you the opportunity to play at this level at that age, as well.”
Dimitrov spent years regarded as the young up-and-coming talent with the potential to upset the ‘Big Three’ order. He rose to a career-high No.3 in 2017, has reached three Grand Slam semi-finals, and has won the prestigious ATP Finals.
At 34, he’s happy to fly under the radar and let the young guns dominate the headlines.
“There's so much attention on the new generation. And it's fine. Everyone has their time. I, for one, love it when I don't have that much attention right now,” said the Bulgarian, who will next take on Austria’s Sebastian Ofner for a place in the last 16.
“But it's an interesting place to be. I think once the maturity kicks in a little bit more, with all the players around, it's very different circumstances. You appreciate it more, you enjoy it more.
“You just want to get in, do your job and get out. It's just a little bit like you're having almost a fun time out throughout the day.”
Dimitrov, currently ranked 21 in the world, has had a tough time with injuries this season, retiring mid-match on four occasions in 2025.
“You try also not to maybe overthink too much or try not to get too serious with things because everything that comes at that stage in our career, I would say, it comes as a plus, it comes as a bonus,” added Dimitrov.
“And it makes things also a little bit more interesting overall. And I also think this is the part where it keeps you motivated, it keeps you hungry.”
Dimitrov says a big part of competing at this age is how long is takes to prepare for just one practice or for a match. The older you get, the more time it takes to stretch, warm-up, and cool down, in order to avoid injuries. And even then, you can still sustain physical problems that prevent you from playing at your best.
“Would I like to have things maybe a little bit different or maybe a little bit easier with the body? Yes, but also at that point being able to compete against the guys, winning matches, still giving hard time to the best players, there's one reason already to keep on playing,” said Dimitrov.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
