Novak Djokovic Wins Opener At Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England -- Novak Djokovic wore a gray sleeve on his surgically repaired right knee while winning his first-round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday without too much of a test.

Playing his first match since tearing the meniscus in his knee at the French Open on June 3, Djokovic never faced a break point along the way to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over qualifier Vit Kopriva in under two hours on Centre Court.

"Very pleased with the way I felt on the court. Obviously, coming into Wimbledon this year was little bit of different circumstances for me, because of the knee. I didn't know how everything was going to unfold on the court, really," Djokovic said. "Practice sessions are quite different from official match play. I'm just extremely glad [with] the way I felt today, the way I played."

Djokovic accumulated 15 break chances, converting six, and delivered his usual clean strokes, finishing with twice as many winners, 32, as unforced errors, 16.

Djokovic hurt his knee during a five-set win at Roland Garros and pulled out of that tournament, then had surgery in Paris on June 5. Less than a month later, he was back in action and taking the first step toward what he hopes would be an eighth championship at Wimbledon, which would tie Roger Federer's mark for the most by a man.

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Djokovic, 37, has won seven of his men's-record 24 Grand Slam titles at the All England Club and was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz last year.

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Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli

Filed Under: Novak Djokovic, Tennis, Wimbledon

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