Novak Djokovic survived a difficult test to beat Yibing Wu in his first round match at Wimbledon.
Djokovic had never lost a first round match at Wimbledon before, but found himself in a battle after losing the first set to the world number 102.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was eventually able to utilise his experience to beat Wu 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 and reach the second round.
When reflecting on his first round victory, Djokovic admitted that he was left shocked by Wu’s performance.
Novak Djokovic reacts after beating Yibing Wu at Wimbledon
Djokovic had never played Wu before in his career, but he was full of praise for the former Grand Slam junior champion in his on-court interview after the match.
The Serbian admitted in this interview that he was surprised by how well Wu’s overall game was against him throughout the match.
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“Better when you win, in the end,” Djokovic said after the match. “It’s not the first time that I am also showing on the court and talking about the significance of Wimbledon in my career and my life.
“It felt really challenging for me today. Wu deserves a huge round of applause for his incredible performance. As for your question, how am I feeling? Happy but not the freshest, I guess. It did not feel like the first round, to be honest.
“It felt like we played two different matches without the roof and with the closed roof. It affects the conditions, it affects the moisture of the ground, it becomes a bit more slippery. So you kind of have to adjust and adapt to that but it’s not easy.
“Once you are in the point you want to give your best and he put me under a lot of pressure. I have never faced him before. I knew he loves hitting very flat and aggressively from the back of the court. He loves protecting the line. But he definitely surprised me with the level of every shot that he had in his game.
“From return of serves, forehand and backhands. At some points he did not really have a weakness. I was lucky he missed that overhead on break point. I probably should have lost that fourth set, he had many break points.
“But on this surface this kind of match is decided on a few points and thankfully I have experience of the last 20 plus years of playing on this court which can help me manage the situation. It would be nice to combine experience with a new, young fresh body! That would be a winning formula.”
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Who will Novak Djokovic play next at Wimbledon?
After beating Wu in three hours and 12 minutes, Djokovic has booked a second round meeting with former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas has endured a difficult past 12 months and is therefore ranked all the way down at world number 87 right now.
The Greek will be hoping for a change in fortune against Djokovic, who Tsitsipas has only won two of his previous 14 matches against.
This includes two Grand Slam final defeats, with their last meeting coming in the quarter-final of the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Djokovic and Tsitsipas will play for the first time in two years at Wimbledon on Wednesday, July 1.
