Djokovic won 6-3 6-1 7-6 (7-5) in a match that finished 14 minutes before the 23:00 BST cut-off on Friday night.

Earlier on day five, world number one Carlos Alcaraz gained his first Centre Court win as he beat France’s Alexandre Muller to move into the third round.

Alcaraz and Djokovic are the top seeds and could meet in the final on 16 July.

Wawrinka, 38, is a three-time Grand Slam winner, beating Djokovic in two of those finals – the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open – but had said he had zero hopes of winning the tournament and “no chance” of beating 36-year-old Djokovic.

The Serb dominated the opening two sets, winning them in a total of 67 minutes, dropping only four games while doing so, but Warwrinka produced a better performance in the third set.

On Thursday the match between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas could not be completed in time, with Tsitsipas coming from two sets to one down to win on Friday.

But Djokovic, who is aiming to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record of eight titles, ensured his match would not go into extra time as he fought back from 5-3 down in the tie-break to advance into the last 16.

“We are two old guys fighting with the young guns,” said Djokovic. “We have had some amazing battles on the biggest courts. I respect him as a player and he is a really nice guy so I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.

“He was only two points away from extending the match to another day. One of us had to win in straight sets [for it to end on Friday] and it looked very good in the first two sets.

“He then raised his level and I dropped mine, the crowd got involved and it was a good atmosphere.

“I know I have a couple of gears that I can go to as the tournament progresses.”

I’m playing at a great level – Alcaraz

Earlier on Friday, Alcaraz, 20, won 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 against world number 84 Muller.

This is Alcaraz’s third year of playing at Wimbledon and in 2021 he won on court six, before losing on Court One. His three wins in 2022 included two victories on Court One and another success on court two ahead before losing to Jannik Sinner in the last 16 on Centre Court.

He won his opener this year on Court One on Tuesday, with this win over Muller surely the first of many on the sport’s most famous stage.

“It’s something I wanted to enjoy every single second of and I did,” said Alcaraz. “I’m playing at a great level, getting more experience and getting better each match.”

Alcaraz struggled early on, repeatedly sending forehands from the baseline long and that gave Muller three break points early on, but he was unable to convert them.

The Spaniard – showing superb touch, technique and pace of shot – gained the vital break in the seventh game.

Alcaraz won the tie-break and was untroubled in the third set to set up a meeting with 25th seed Nicolas Jarry of Chile in round three.

Medvedev not at home on grass, but ‘at the door’

Daniil Medvedev beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-5) in round two after the match had been stopped at 4-4 in the third set on Thursday because of bad light.

Earlier this week, Medvedev, who has never gone past the last 16 at Wimbledon, said he “didn’t feel at home” on grass, and now said: “I’m getting there. Maybe at the door. Not inside, but at the door.”

Matteo Berrettini, runner-up in 2021, beat 15th seed Alex de Minaur and was delighted with the win having missed the 2022 event after testing positive for Covid just before the tournament started.

“What happened [the withdrawal] is something that hasn’t healed yet [mentally],” said Berrettini after his 6-3 6-4 6-4 second-round win, with Germany’s 19th seed Alexander Zverev set to be his third-round opponent.

“It’s a really sharp pain, if I think about it,” said Berrettini. “I probably was in the best shape in my career, feeling great on grass and wanted to enjoy the tournament, such a special tournament.

“Not being able to play was something that, even when I was better physically, was really tough mentally to overcome.”

Berrettini’s compatriot Jannik Sinner, seeded eighth, has moved into the last 16 after coming from a set down to beat France’s Quentin Halys 3-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.

Elsewhere, sixth seed Holger Rune defeated Spain’s Roberto Caballes Baena in round two, while there were third-round victories for Russia’s seventh seed Andrey Rublev, Polish 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz and 23rd seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.

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.

“Hopefully I can make it competitive, but if you look at recent results, I don’t have a chance,” said Wawrinka.

Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini also won.

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.

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.

“I’m happy to have won and I think it was a great match – I’m playing better each match,” said Wawrinka.

“It will be an honour to play Novak here. I was missing that in my career to play him in the Grand Slam in Wimbledon – it’s going to be a difficult challenge.”

Zverev and Berrettini finally get to play first-round matches

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.

There were rain delays on each of the opening three days, meaning 17 first-round matches across the men’s and women’s singles still had to be completed on Thursday.

Germany’s 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.

Zverev, the former world number two but now the 19th seed, missed last year’s tournament following a serious knee injury he sustained during the 2022 French Open semi-finals.

“I’m just happy to be back at Wimbledon,” Zverev said. “I missed it last year with a bad injury so just to be on this court I’m happy to be here with 10,000 people.

“Wimbledon is the most historic tennis tournament in the world and maybe the most historic sporting event in the world.

“Being involved is something special and I have definitely missed it.”

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.

In round two, unseeded Berrettini will play 15th seed Alex de Minaur after the Australian beat Belgian qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-2).

There were also first-round wins for Chile’s Nicolas Jarry and Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the 25th and 31st seeds respectively.

In round two, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, seeded 14th, 23rd and 26th respectively, all gained straight-set victories.

Shapovalov will next play British wildcard Liam Broady after the Briton stunned fourth seed Casper Ruud in Thursday’s opening match on Centre Court.