Twelfth seed Novak Djokovic overcame a last-minute leg injury scare to score a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, win over Horacio Zeballos in the second round.
The former world No.1 continued his Wimbledon campaign in somewhat unfamiliar territory. In breaking with a trend normally associated with the Big Four, the Serbian played on court 2 instead of the two premier stadiums at The All England Club. Making it only the second time he has done so in his career since 2009.
“It actually doesn’t bother me. I was enjoying it. I’ve never played on this new Court 2. I played on the old Court 2.” Said Djokovic.
“It was interesting. I think what was different is the walk to the court. Obviously the crowd, everybody cheering you on, wishing you luck, after the match congratulating you. That was quite special, quite different. I haven’t experienced that in a while in Wimbledon.”
Despite the questionable scheduling of his match, Djokovic showed no signs of it affecting his play. Dismantling his Argentine opponent with ease after just 91 minutes of play. Djokovic’s defensive play and ability to pile pressure onto Zeballos prompted the Argentine to hit a series of unforced errors. In total Zeballos hit 28 unforced errors compared to Djokovic’s four.
All three sets had a similar pattern with the 12-time grand slam champion breaking early on to establish his dominance. He managed to maintain those leading positions with the help of some sublime service games. Firing 15 aces and winning 89% of his first service points.
“I’m very pleased with the way I played both matches, especially today. I thought my serve was working really well. Playing on grass, obviously having 10-plus aces in a match, it’s not a common feeling that I get to experience a lot.” He reflected after wards.
It was all going smoothly for Djokovic until midway during the third set. Leading 4-2, he started to walk gingerly around the court as he showed discomfort with his left leg. Prompting the trainer to be called to the court for a medical time out. The issued appeared to be concerning the upper part of Djokovic’s leg as the trainer manipulated the area. Triggering a worried look on the face of coach Marián Vajda.
“It was a bad move during a point. It affected my knee a little bit. I felt it all the way to the end of the match basically, last couple games.” Djokovic explained during his press conference.
“I’ve been doing checkups now. It seems like it’s nothing major. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll see on the practice session how it feels. Hopefully it’s going to be fine.”
Resuming play, Djokovic managed to get over the finish line with the help of his trusted serve. He wasn’t afraid to move around the court in what was a positive indication to his camp. Although it was still clear that he was troubled by some kind of issue. Nevertheless, he valiantly managed to seal the victory at the expense of another error from his rival on match point.
Despite the scare, Djokovic has insisted that he is still fit to continue playing in the tournament. Last year he withdrew from his quarter-final match at Wimbledon due to an elbow injury. An issue which ended his 2017 season.
“If it was major I’d be pulling out from the tournament. What I’m saying is that it’s most likely a twitch in the muscle or something.” Said Djokovic.
“Hopefully it’s nothing that will concern me, so to say, that I’ll be able to perform.” He later added.
Thursday’s triumph at The All England Club has rewarded the Serbian with his 60th main draw win of the tournament since making his debut back in 2005. He has now reached the third round of Wimbledon in 13 out of 14 attempts with 2008 being the only exception.
In the third round Djokovic will take on either Kyle Edmund or Bradley Klahn. Both of those players will face each other later in the day on Center Court.
