For all his positivity in the Wimbledon buildup, until Novak Djokovic set foot on the match court, with its related stress and pressure, he was not entirely sure how his knee would hold up on the grass. The 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Vit Kopriva, a 27-year-old playing only his second grand slam match, was as one-sided as it sounds, though, the seven-time champion never really having to get out of second gear.
Wearing a grey brace on his right knee, just three and a half weeks after undergoing surgery to fix a torn meniscus, Djokovic’s movement was good. And if he looked a little cautious when moving quickly to his forehand side, taking extra care not to slide, he was more than satisfied with his efforts.
“It was very good,” said Djokovic, who will play Jacob Fearnley in the second round after the Scot’s straight-sets win over the Spaniard Alejandro Moro Cañas. “Very pleased with the way I felt on the court. Obviously coming into Wimbledon was a little difficult because of the knee. I didn’t know how everything was going to unfold on the court. Extremely glad the way I felt today, the way I played today.”
In truth, he was never really tested. The Czech, who came through qualifying, had success on the odd occasion he was able to get Djokovic out of position but that was too few and far between and the world No 2 will have been delighted to have got the job done quickly, seemingly with no issues. Victory a week on Sunday would give him an eighth Wimbledon title, equalling the record for the men’s event, held by Roger Federer, another incentive to give it everything.
“I tried to really focus on the game and not really think too much about the knee,” he said. “Everything I could possibly do, I’ve done, along with my team, in the last three and a half weeks to have a chance to be here. I think if it was any other tournament, I probably wouldn’t have risked it, I just love Wimbledon.”
Alexander Zverev has been talking up his chances over the past few days, suggesting that for the first time in perhaps two decades, the title is open to more than just two or three players. The German fourth seed cruised into the second round with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Roberto Carballés Baena of Spain.
The sixth seed, Andrey Rublev, suffered a surprise first-round defeat, the Russian losing his temper, smashing his racket on his thigh at one stage, and the match to Francisco Comesaña, who claimed his first Tour win 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5). At the French Open last month, Rublev admitted his behaviour needed to improve – on Tuesday he said there was a lot of work to be done. “It is the main problem that I need to improve,” he said. “Of course, I didn’t behave today as in Paris, but still I could do much better. This is not the way.”
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The No 7 seed, Hubert Hurkacz, came from a set down to see off Radu Albot 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and Ben Shelton, the No 14 seed, squeezed past Mattia Bellucci of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Holger Rune, the 15th seed, impressed in beating Kwon Soon-woo 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. And lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Pericard of France hit 51 aces as he beat 20th seed, Seb Korda, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 6-3, saving all 11 break points that he faced.