Novak Djokovic has overcame an uncharacteristically unsteady start to avoid what would have been his earliest exit at Wimbledon since 2016.

The match started with one of the poorest sets the Serbian star has ever played and turned into an absorbing war of attrition as the Australian went “toe-to-toe with one of the greats”.

And below them, for the first time this Championships, Novak Djokovic faces a fellow seeded player.After swatting aside his first three opponents while losing only one service game, Djokovic finally faced a serious test.