ATP Tour

Djokovic's journey from 'best to worst' leads to Wimbledon 2nd Rd.

Novak Djokovic pulled through an early scare in his pursuit of a record-tying eighth Wimbledon title on Tuesday, when he defeated Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-2 in the first round.

Moving as slick as the grass at the All England Club during the opening, the 38-year-old Serbian then squandered six set points in the second before entering a physical tussle with the Frenchman. Yet Djokovic, who twice called for the doctor during the third set, ultimately showed his fighting spirit to prevail after three hours, 20 minutes.

“I went from feeling my absolute best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes,” said Djokovic, the No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “Whether it was a stomach bug, I struggled with that, but then the energy kicked back after the doctor’s miracle pills and I managed to finish the match on a good note.”

After a lights-out start, Djokovic began to wear down physically in a drama-filled end to the encounter. During the change of ends at 2-1 in the second set, he held his chest in a bid to aid his breathing before later receiving counsel from the doctor.

_{^{Novak Djokovic calls for the doctor during his first-round clash at Wimbledon. Photo: Glyn Kirk/Getty Images.}}

With the Centre Court roof closed and Muller’s blistering groundstrokes causing havoc, it appeared as if the momentum was swinging in the Frenchman’s favour. He undid his own good work, however, with a double fault to gift Djokovic a 3-2 lead and then took a medical timeout to treat his right leg.

Despite struggling, Djokovic continued to display remarkable athleticism from the baseline to outlast Muller and force the errors. He ran away with early breaks in the third and fourth sets to extend his perfect 20-0 record in opening matches at Wimbledon.

After improving to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Muller, the sixth-seeded Djokovic will continue his campaign against home wild card Daniel Evans. He is seeded for a quarter-final meeting British No. 1 Jack Draper.

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Competing at his lowest seeding at the grass-court major (sixth) since 2018, Djokovic is aiming to equal Roger Federer’s all-time record of eight Wimbledon titles.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I had a chance,” said Djokovic. “I think I always have a chance, I think I earned my right to really feel like I can go all the way to the title. I have had the most consistent success here at Wimbledon.”

With his victory over Muller, the seven-time champion Djokovic has now won 40 of his past 42 matches at the All England Club. His only two losses during this period have come in the past two finals, when he fell to Carlos Alcaraz.