ATP Tour

Djokovic sets Tsitsipas clash with hard-fought opening Wimbledon win

Novak Djokovic made an entertaining start to his 21st Wimbledon campaign under the Centre roof on Monday night, when he battled past China’s Wu Yibing 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a gripping encounter.

Wu, who on Sunday told ATPTour.com that Djokovic was the "GOAT", played fearlessly throughout to the delight of the lively crowd. The Chinese star continually let rip on the forehand, knocking the Serbian off balance at times with his weight and depth of shot.

However, as has so often been the case at The Championships, Djokovic refused to succumb to the Wu barrage. The Serbian dug deep to win the third set and was then went into lockdown mode in the key exchanges in the fourth to improve to 21-0 in Wimbledon first rounds. The Serbian fended off six break points in the fourth set, including three from 0/40 at 2-3, before eventually triumphing after three hours and 11 minutes.

“It felt really challenging today, Wu deserves a round of applause for his incredible performance,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “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 kind of 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."

Djokovic, a record 24-time major champion, is chasing his eighth Wimbledon title this fortnight, which would level him with record men’s champion Roger Federer. The 39-year-old has not lifted the trophy at The All England Club since 2022, though, having lost in finals in 2023 and 2024 to Carlos Alcaraz and at the semi-final stage to Jannik Sinner in 2025.

Djokovic, watched throughout his opener by Sir David Beckham and Bad Bunny, will next play Stefanos Tsitsiaps. The Serbian leads the Greek 12-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series but they have not met since the Paris Olympics in 2024.

In an electric atmosphere, every big winner from Wu was met by an extended ‘Wuuuuuuuuuuu’ inside Centre Court. The still conditions under the roof suited the Chinese star but Djokovic found trademark moments of magic – including a flicked backhand passing-shot winner to bring up break point at 3-4 in the third set – to gain control. After breaking for 5-3 in the third set, the former World No. 1 raised his finger to his ear, drawing a huge reaction, adding to an electric atmosphere.

"He put me under a lot of pressure,” Djokovic added. “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. But 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.

"I was lucky he missed the overhead and break point and I probably should have lost that fourth set as he had many break points.”

Djokovic then gained the crucial break in the ninth game of the fourth set when he scrambled to a ball, lifting it high in the air and forcing Wu to overhit the smash. The 39-year-old then sealed victory on serve to reach the second round.

Djokovic was competing on grass for the first time this year and he is playing in just his fifth tour-level event of the season. The 101-time tour-level titlist's best result in 2026 came at the Australian Open, where he reached the final.