LONDON: On Tuesday evening, Novak Djokovic managed to avoid joining the growing list of high-profile exits from Wimbledon. However, it wasn’t an ideal start for the seven-time champion.
Djokovic, who is seeded sixth in this year’s draw, had to contend with some impressive hitting from French opponent Alexandre Müller, who took a set off the Serbian before losing 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-2. To make matters worse, Djokovic was also dealing with stomach pain while playing. A problem that was eased with the help of some ‘miracle pills’ from the on-court doctor
“I went from feeling my absolutely best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes,’ Djokovic said when his match ended at around 10:30pm.
“Whether it was a stomach bug – I don’t know what it is, but I just struggled with that.
“The energy kind of kicked back after some doctor’s miracle pills and I managed to finish the match on a good note.”
The Djokovic fightback is a relief for tournament organisers during what has been an extraordinary first two days for seeded players. In the men’s draw, 13 out of the 32 seeded players have failed to make it through to the second round. This is five more than last year. Out of the 13 casualties, four were top 10 seeds.
Away from the court, 37-year-old Djokovic is relishing his return to SW19 in what is his 20th main draw appearance. He has recorded 97 wins at the tournament out of 109 matches played, winning 40 out of his last 42 matches played at the Grand Slam.
Given his longevity in the sport, it is no surprise that others on the Tour would like to get a pep talk from Djokovic. One of those players is women’s world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who has been hitting with the 24-time major winner leading up to the event. Something she believes will help improve her game.
“We had a little chat after the training session. She asked me a couple of questions. Of course, I’m very happy to always share with anybody, as I was doing with a lot of the other male tennis players mostly.” Djokovic explained.
“What we talked about stays between us.
“I’m honoured to be in the position where the No. 1 in the world comes to me, approaches me, and asks me some questions, advice and guidance. That’s, of course, a very privileged position to be in.”
Djokovic will return to action tomorrow at Wimbledon when he plays Dan Evans in the second round. The Brit is a former world No.21 who recently beat Tommy Paul at Eastbourne. Evans claimed his first Wimbledon victory since 2021 by beating Jay Clarke in straight sets.
“It’s a good test for both of us,” Djokovic previewed. “I think he’s (Evans) been picking his form up, as well. His ranking is not doing him justice at the moment. He deserves to be ranked higher.
“He’s been a really tough player to face on any surface, particularly the grass and quicker ones. I know that because that’s always the talk of the locker room. He’s one of the guys that you don’t want to face on grass.”
