The Serbian struggled to advance to the next round against China’s Wu Yibing, ranked 102nd in the world.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic kicked off his quest for the Wimbledon title with a hard-fought victory. The 24-time Grand Slam champion battled for over three hours to defeat China’s Wu Yibing, ranked 102nd in the world, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Wu Yibing and advanced to the second round in his 21st appearance at the grass-court classic. There, the Serbian will face Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
“It didn’t feel like a first-round match. He put a lot of pressure on me,” said Djokovic. “That was a real challenge for me today.”
Last year, following his semifinal loss to Jannik Sinner, Djokovic missed the final in southwest London for the first time since 2017. Now the 39-year-old is once again aiming for his eighth title on Church Road, which would tie him with Roger Federer at the top of the list of all-time men’s singles champions.
But like defending champion Sinner—who won a nail-biter 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-3 against Djokovic’s compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic—the world No. 7 had to work hard for the victory.
Wimbledon: Djokovic Battles His Way Through
“I think I’m better prepared here than I was for Roland Garros, which was very demanding and grueling,” Djokovic—who had been eliminated in the third round of the French Open by Brazilian Joao Fonseca and was now playing his first match since Paris—had emphasized beforehand: “I planned to reach my best form at Wimbledon after my shoulder injury kept me off the tour for several months.”
In front of Latino rapper Bad Bunny and English soccer icon David Beckham, Djokovic stepped onto Center Court in a white blazer, and at first, everything went according to plan for the clear favorite. But the match turned into a closely contested battle; the Chinese player played boldly, fighting for every ball. This also thrilled the crowd, with loud “Wuuuu” chants echoing across the court time and again.
After the score was tied, Djokovic was under pressure in the third set as well; neither player showed any weakness on their service games—until the Serb managed to break to make it 5-4. Djokovic secured the set but had to keep fighting as his energy waned.
