Wimbledon 2022: Novak Djokovic to play Tim van Rijthoven at All England Club

During the late nineties and early noughties, you couldn't escape hearing supportive - and sometimes anguished - cries of 'Come on, Tim!' on Wimbledon's main show courts.

Now they have returned at the All England Club, this time in support of Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven on his way to a date with defending champion Novak Djokovic in the last 16.

When asked if he knew the context of the shouts, the 25-year-old smiled and said: "I think it's Tim Henman you're talking about. That's just a little bit before my time.

"Obviously I do know Tim Henman as a player. But for me it didn't really sound familiar."

Another thing that won't sound familiar to many people is the name Tim van Rijthoven.

Out of nowhere, he has become one of the form players of the grass-court season and earned his eighth successive win on the surface by beating Georgian 22nd seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the Wimbledon third round.

Remarkably, he had never won an ATP Tour main-draw match until his home tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch last month.

Even more incredibly, the then world number 205 went on to lift the trophy by beating world number one Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Many have described his breakthrough as a fairytale, but the reality is his journey has been far from magical.

Debilitating injuries wiped three years out of a career which, having been a promising junior, seemed destined for great things.

The psychological impact of the physiological problems was also difficult to cope with.

"It's been one long journey," said Van Rijthoven, who has climbed to 104th in the world on the back of his recent success.

"I've had my ups and downs, injuries here and there, and also struggled mentally.

"There were three major injuries. I had a wrist surgery. I had an artery surgery. The other one wasn't a surgery, but it was an elbow injury just took nine months to heal.

"I'm just happy to be in the place I am right now. I hope to be there for a couple more years - or, actually, a lot more years."

Managing to overcome his fitness problems and starting to fulfil his talent took months of dedication and soul-searching to rebuild a career which he feared might have been destroyed.

Once he was able to see light at the end of a dark tunnel, Van Rijthoven says "very positive vibes" eventually arrived and have been key to his recent success.

You would imagine the same characteristics and energy will be needed when he faces another player who knows what success on a grass-court feels like.

Djokovic is aiming for a seventh Wimbledon men's title which would put him level with Pete Sampras and one behind Roger Federer's record.

The top seed breezed into the last 16 when he dropped just seven games in a convincing win against fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic.

Djokovic, 35, won 6-0 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court to earn his 24th consecutive victory on grass, a run stretching back to 2018 when he was beaten by Marin Cilic in the Queen's final.

On the prospect of playing 20-time major champion Djokovic, Van Rijthoven said: "Before the tournament started, it was a dream for me to play him.

"So to be able to have that chance and to maybe even play on Centre Court or Court One is beautiful and magical.

"I go into every match thinking I can win the match. Also against Djokovic I'll go into that match thinking I can win."

Whichever court the pair end up playing on, the underdog is sure to have lots of British support.

Three little words that were omnipresent during Henman's pursuit of glory at SW19 - and since somewhat mischievously sewn into the fabric of British sporting culture - will be ringing in his ears.

Elsewhere on Friday, 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach the Wimbledon last 16 since 2011 when he powered past Germany's Oscar Otte.

The Spanish fifth seed, often described as the natural heir to 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, won 6-3 6-1 6-2 in just one hour and 38 minutes.

Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik is one of the sport's more unorthodox players, taking it to a different level when he hit six underarm serves in one service game against American Frances Tiafoe.

The entertainment was lapped up by the crowd on Court Two at the All England Club, with Bublik saving three break points to eventually win the game, although he still trailed 3-1 in the fourth set.

Tiafoe, seeded 23rd, kept his focus to seal a 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory.

Big-serving American John Isner made more tennis history as he broke the all-time aces record during his third-round match against Italy's Jannik Sinner.

The 37-year-old, who beat Andy Murray in the previous round, passed Croatian Ivo Karlovic's mark of 13,728 but the aces did not stop him losing 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to the 10th seed.