Djokovic breezes through Wimbledon opener despite knee concerns
Novak Djokovic has passed his first test at Wimbledon 2024 with flying colours, defeating Vit Kopriva in straight sets at the All England Club on Tuesday.
All eyes were on how the Serb’s knee would hold up, with Djokovic having undergone surgery for a torn meniscus just weeks ago.
Much to the despair of the rest of the draw at Wimbledon, he looked untroubled.
The seven-time champion even managed to slide on the grass for the first time this season.
“I did one slide,” the 37-year-old said after his 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win.
“That was the first slide of the grass court season for me.
“I haven’t done it even in a practice week. So that was a great test.”
Djokovic’s status as title contender confirmed in London
Tennis bookmakers had tentatively held Djokovic on the third line of betting heading into Wimbledon, despite not knowing how the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s knee would be.
Djokovic sits at +300 with BetOnline, just behind Jannik Sinner (+187) and Carlos Alcaraz (+210).
Having completed his match against Kopriva, Djokovic only had positive things to say about his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday.
“Wery happy, very happy with the way I felt, with the way I played, with the way I moved,” he shared.
“For an opening match, I couldn’t ask for a better start.
“Obviously I started a little bit more cautious, I would say.
“I didn’t really maybe go for certain shots 100 percent in terms of the far balls in the first set.”
When Djokovic did push himself and go for his maiden grass-court slide of the season, he confessed it was a breakthrough moment mentally.
“I felt happy that I did it because in a way you also feel mentally hesitant to do those extreme movements,” he said.
“But knowing that I can do it is, obviously, very comforting and very positive.”
Rublev out, Draper survives
Other results on day two of Wimbledon included the No.6 seed in the men’s draw, Andrey Rublev, crashing out in the first round.
The Russian has had a challenging year, visibly struggling with his mental health on court.
His clash against Francisco Comesana, the world No.122, was another performance riddled with uncomfortable outbursts of anger.
Comesana played the match of his life, ousting Rublev 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to book his spot in the second round.
British No.1 Jack Draper narrowly avoided embarrassment himself, defeating qualifier Elias Ymer in five sets on Centre Court.
The win sets up a tantalising second-round clash against the man Draper knocked off the top British spot, Cameron Norrie.
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