Distracted Novak Djokovic secures first-round Wimbledon victory over Kwon Soon-woo

Djokovic looked out of sorts for chunks of his opening match, leading to speculation that he may have a cold, or that the debacle of his deportation from Australia in January continues to take its toll. He did address the central question of how his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19, which led to him being barred from competing at the Australian Open, has affected him.

“This post-Australian period of several months was challenging emotionally for me because of a lot of different factors,” he said. “In terms of my motivation on the court, fulfilling my everyday chores, trying to win more titles and be one of the contenders for more grand-slams, it hasn’t changed much, to be honest. But, of course, the sensation coming back on the court, with everything that happened post-Australia, particularly the first few tournaments, was different. It was a different feel. Not very pleasant to me.”

More comforting was the reception he was given on Centre Court. There was not one jeer of the man considered by many to have misled the authorities in Australia and been neglectful of his status as a role model. Indeed, the support was more fervent than usual, as if his freedom-of-choice stance was one shared by swathes of spectators.

“I was very pleasantly surprised, I mean, in a positive way,” he said. “I felt the support.”

The contest itself was a surprise too. Djokovic has now won at least 80 matches at each of the four grand-slams and the history books will largely ignore that this was one victory that was particularly puzzling.

Credit must go to the South Korean for taking advantage of his opponent’s distraction. Kwon’s drop shots peppered the contest like firecrackers and Djokovic was not all keen to chase them down. Having taken the first set, Djokovic was expected to properly find his rhythm. Instead, Kwon prevailed. He delivered some entertaining last-ditch volleying at the net and held his nerve to choose the drop shot where others might have played it safe.

Suddenly the Serbian was all drooping shoulders and dismay, but he hauled himself back into contention. In pursuit of his seventh title here, he has never lost a first-round match at Wimbledon, and Kwon’s style was what someone below par did not need.

He is dynamic and imaginative and it took a lot of energy for Djokovic to hold for 3-2 in the third, but it was worth the effort and he won the set largely unscathed.

Djokovic had the chance to break at the start of the fourth but did not appear to have the will to see it through. We witnessed the first piece of celebration when he successfully lobbed Kwon in the next game, which contributed to him holding serve.

Still, it was all highly counterintuitive, seeing the No 1 seed struggle to win through on his serve in defence of his title. The fourth set went with serve until Djokovic broke for a 3-2 lead.

Kwon held but still needed to claw back the break, which he could not manage, and so, on his 17th consecutive appearance here, Djokovic served out the match with relative ease, sealing the win with an ace.

And with that he could at last look ahead, although he seemed surprised to be asked about Matteo Berrettini, last year’s runner-up and a possible opponent again should he reach this year’s final.

The Italian is performing smoothly in grass-court tournaments, notching 21 wins from 22 matches compared with Djokovic’s 22 consecutive wins at the championships.

Djokovic neatly summed up why there is so much chatter about Berrettini, saying that having experienced one final here, he will be better equipped to handle the next.

– The Times

Originally published as Distracted Novak Djokovic secures first-round Wimbledon victory over Kwon Soon-woo