Nearly four weeks after having surgery on a torn right meniscus, Novak Djokovic brushed off injury concerns in his first match at Wimbledon.
Djokovic suffered the injury during his fourth-round victory at the French Open, forcing him to withdraw from Roland Garros. He underwent surgery on June 5, so it appeared he wouldn’t play at Wimbledon and would prepare for the Paris Olympics instead.
However, he returned to Centre Court on Tuesday and put on a clinic against qualifier Vit Kopriva, coasting to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory in one hour and 58 minutes. Charlie Morgan of The Telegraph reported Kopriva scored only two points off of Djokovic’s serve through the first two sets.
Of course, Djokovic can’t continue to rely on his serve against better opponents. Kopriva, 27, is far less experienced than the 24-time Grand Slam winner. According to the Evening Standard’s Matt Majendie, this was Kopriva’s second match in a major tournament, compared to Djokovic’s 420th.
Regardless, this match was a test to determine whether Djokovic was dealing with rust. Aside from letting Kopriva save six break points in the fourth game of the first set, he passed.
“I was pleased with how I felt on the court,” Djokovic said in his post-match interview, via the Independent’s Luke Baker. “I didn’t know how everything would unfold. Practice sessions are quite different to matches, so I’m extremely glad with how I felt and played today. I tried to really focus on my game and not think about the knee.”
If Djokovic wins the grass-court tournament, he will tie Roger Federer for the most Wimbledon titles. This may be motivating him and fueling his remarkable recovery.