Thursday 26 / December / 2024
London: After his first round in Wimbledon, Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, who is aiming for a record-equalling eighth title, expressed happiness with his on-court movement following a successful knee surgery.
Djokovic eased past Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to kick-off his title ambitions with style on Tuesday. Despite the fact that an injury sustained during the French Open and a subsequent knee surgery affected his preparations, the 37-year-old barely showed any signs of discomfort and slowness as he removed Kopriva from the competition in just under two hours, breaking his opponents' serve twice.
The 27-year-old Kopriva, who had just played professionally on grass prior to this during the Wimbledon qualifying back in 2022, 2023 and this year, just could not deal with the experience and consistency brought by his opponent. Djokovic made just 16 unforced errors across three sets and won 90 per cent of points behind his first serve.
After the win, he was quoted as saying by Wimbledon's official website, "That was very good. I did not know how everything would unfold. I am extremely pleased with how it felt."
"I have done everything in the last three-and-a-half weeks to give myself a chance to play here. For any other tournament, I would not have risked it or rushed it. I just love Wimbledon. I love being here."
Djokovic also noted that he has been fortunate enough to avoid major injuries and expressed his sympathy with rival and British tennis great Andy Murray, who withdrew from singles competition at Wimbledon due to back issues.
"I have been fortunate compared to others, avoiding major injuries. I empathise with anyone feeling that helplessness, when something is not allowing you to come back to what you love the most," said Djokovic.
"Andy Murray withdrawing today was a great blow. Great respect for him for all he has done for this sport. I just hope he will be able to finish his career on his terms. I sent him my best, and to anyone else out there really struggling with injuries," he concluded.
In other notable games, Andrey Rublev fumbled his perfect first-round record at Wimbledon with a loss to Argentino Francisco by 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(5), while Alexander Zverev defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to move into round two.
