By Shrivathsa Sridhar
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic launched his latest bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and standalone 25th Grand Slam crown with a battling 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 win over China’s plucky Wu Yibing in the first round on Monday.
Still fiercely competitive at the age of 39, Djokovic is looking to equal Roger Federer’s tally at the All England Club and go past Margaret Court in the all-time list of Grand Slam titles, and he showed flair and fight to stay on track.
“It’s better when you win in the end. It’s not the first time I’m showing and talking about the significance of Wimbledon in my career and my life,” Djokovic said, before talking about playing under the Centre Court roof and lights after two sets.
“It felt really challenging today, Wu deserves a round of applause for his incredible performance. As for how I’m feeling, I’m feeling happy but not the freshest I guess. It didn’t feel like the first round to be honest.
“It felt like we played two different matches; one with the open roof and the closed roof. It affects the conditions and the moisture of the grass. It becomes more slippery, so you have to adjust and adapt to that but it’s not easy because once you’re in the point you want to give your best.
“He put me under a lot of pressure. I’ve never faced him before; I knew that he loves hitting the ball very flat and very aggressively from the back of the court and he loves protecting the line.”
DJOKOVIC GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS
After shedding the custom Lacoste blazer he wore onto Centre Court, Djokovic got down to business, easing through the opening set and still finding time to acknowledge a successful marriage proposal in the stands with a heart-shaped gesture.
Wu, who returned to Grand Slam action this year after two injury-hit seasons, raised his level to snatch the second set and kept up the pressure for eight games in the next before Djokovic broke him and edged ahead in the contest.
Djokovic huffed and puffed in the fourth set before breaking for a 5-4 lead when Wu fired an overhead long, and the Serb duly wrapped up the physically draining match on serve to set up an intriguing meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“He definitely surprised me with the level of every shot he had in his game from his return serves, forehand, backhand and at some point he didn’t really have a weakness,” seventh seed Djokovic said about 26-year-old Wu.
“I was lucky he missed the overhead on break point (for Djokovic) and I probably should have lost that fourth set as he had many break points.
“Playing on this surface, these kinds of matches are decided on a few points and few shots. Thankfully I have the experience of the last 20-plus years of playing on this court that can help me a bit and manage the situation.
“It would be nice to combine the experience with a young fresh body. That would be the winning formula.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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