Playing the first match on Centre Court as the defending Wimbledon champion is always a great honor. It can be a great advantage, too, when it’s raining in London.
That was the case on Monday — and could be throughout the first week of the championships based on the long-range forecast — for Novak Djokovic. Protected by the roof on the most famous court in tennis, Djokovic started slow against British wild card Jack Draper but unsurprisingly recovered to race away with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory. Despite dropping a set, the world No. 1 needed only two hours to advance.
“I thought he was playing well,” Djokovic said of Draper. “He was fighting. Obviously for him, (it was) a unique occasion playing for the first time on Wimbledon Centre Court. He has done well….
“I was kind of slipping a few times on those break points. (I’m) still finding my footing, I would say, on the grass that was quite slippery; quite moist. It was probably because of the roof. But anyway, (it) was a very good performance. I’m pleased with the second, third, and fourth sets the way I played from the back of the court. I started returning better, as well, midway (through the) second set.”
Djokovic wrapped things up before anyone even started on the outer courts, as rain postponed play there until 4:00 pm.
Other show-court matches that continued as scheduled regardless of the weather were Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Frances Tiafoe and Andy Murray vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili. Both produced headlines.
In the upset of the day, Tiafoe took down Tsitsipas–the French Open runner-up–6-4, 6-4, 6-3. The American played nine grass-court matches in preparation for Wimbledon, whereas Tsitsipas played zero. And it showed. Tiafoe was in control from start to finish and managed to stay in front the whole way by saving all seven of the break points he faced.
“This is what you’re training for; this is what it’s all about,” the world No. 57 commented. “That guy’s special. He’s going to do a lot of great things and win a ton of Grand Slams…. But not today.”
Today wasn’t going to be the end of Murray at Wimbledon–not this year and not for his career. The 34-year-old Scot won his first match at the All-England Club since 2017 by beating Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
It really should have been a straight-set affair, but what would a Murray match be without some drama. The two-time Wimbledon champion squandered a 5-0, triple-break lead in the third set, losing an absurd seven games in a row. A break in the action to close the roof surely helped, as Murray composed himself before coming back to seal the deal in four.
“I definitely should have finished it up a lot sooner than what I did,” he admitted. “[But] I don’t think there are that many players that would have won that fourth set.
“I think I played well up until probably 5-3 in the third set. That’s never happened to me before in my career, being three breaks, a serve up and two sets to love up; never had that happen before. But [those are] the sorts of things that can happen when you haven’t played any matches. Things can get away from you a little bit quick.”
There was nothing quick about the match involving Murray’s potential round-two opponents. Oscar Otte and Arthur Rinderknech were tied at 9-9 in the fifth set when play was suspended due to darkness.
nice one, Murray