Novak Djokovic (No. 2) debuted with a victory in the first round of Wimbledon, defeating Viktor Kopriva (No. 123) by 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The Serbian has accumulated 35 wins in his last 36 appearances at All England Club and dispelled doubts about his physical condition.
The 24-times Grand Slam champion underwent knee surgery a month ago after suffering an injury during the French Open, where he h3ad to withdraw in the quarterfinals. Djokovic took just three weeks to recover from the injury and return to SW19.
Djokovic starts strong
Nole looked good from the start of the match without showing any knee problems. After both defended their first service points, the fourth game was crucial, as 20 points were played and Djokovic seized his sixth break point to take the lead.
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The momentum from the game began to highlight Djokovic’s superiority in the match; he won 14 consecutive points and ultimately took the set 6-1. Nole conceded just one point on his serve, while winning 57% of return points, including 12 winners compared to Kopriva’s 4.
In the second set, Djokovic again maintained superiority from the outset. Although Kopriva saved a couple of break points at the beginning of the set, Nole capitalized on break opportunities in the third and seventh games to comfortably claim the set in 44 minutes with a score of 6-2. Djokovic was nearly flawless again with his first serve, winning 92% of them.
Novak Djokovic at 2024 French Open.
Novak Djokovic at 2024 French Open.
In the third set, it seemed the Czech could maintain pace with the world No. 2 for longer, but it only lasted a few minutes. Kopriva was up 2-1 before Nole showed his final push to win five consecutive games and secure a comfortable match victory of 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.