Few tennis players have a keener sense of history than Novak Djokovic, so it is apt that, as he continues his assault on the sport’s record books, he is paying close heed to the lessons of the past. Five years ago, after winning the French Open for the first time to complete a career grand slam, Djokovic suffered a mental lull that culminated in a shock third-round defeat to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon. This year, having arrived in SW19 with a second Roland Garros title to his name, and up against another huge server in the shape of Kevin Anderson, he made no such mistake.
The giant South African has proved a worthy adversary at the All England Club in the past, holding a two-set lead against Djokovic in 2015 only to lose 7-5 in the fifth set. Then, as now, the Serb was the defending champion. Three summers later, Anderson faced Djokovic again, this time in the final. Exhausted after a marathon semi-final victory over John Isner, Anderson struggled to make an impact that day. But his grass-court pedigree speaks for itself, and Djokovic was taking no chances. A model of focus and intensity, the top seed ran out a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 winner with a performance of ruthless efficiency.
“I’m going to try to learn from that experience that I had in 2016, winning the first two slams of the year, coming in here in Wimbledon, actually feeling great, playing great, but then I lost the third round against of course a great opponent, Sam Querrey, who was a better player that day,” said Djokovic.
“I felt a little bit different, maybe a little bit deflated. I don’t want to say demotivated because playing Wimbledon is always a dream for any player, including myself. I just felt slightly different than I felt before. It was the first time I experienced that kind of situation and circumstances.
“So this time I’m probably, I would like to think, a bit wiser and a bit more experienced as a player and person. It helps. But now I’m in the third round. It only has been two matches into the tournament. Still a long way to go. Hopefully I can go very deep in the tournament. That’s the goal. But I’m very pleased with the way I’ve been playing so far.”
Much has changed for Anderson in the three years since he last played Djokovic on Centre Court. Once ranked as high as fifth in the world, the former US Open and Wimbledon finalist underwent knee surgery twice in six months before the pandemic began. Now 35 and ranked a lowly 102, the South African has struggled for form since his return to the tour. He suffered first-round exits at the Australian and French Opens, and fell to similarly early defeats in Nottingham and Eastbourne in the build-up to Wimbledon. His serve remains a potent weapon, but there is no substitute for competitive play.
As is often the way, it was at the key moments that Anderson’s lack of match practice became most apparent. The first such occasion came in the eighth game of the opening set. Serving with new balls, Anderson produced his only double fault of the set, hesitated in the face of a floated return that landed plum on the baseline, and twice he approached the net behind topspin forehands that sat up invitingly on the Djokovic backhand. He was broken to love. With the Djokovic serve impregnable – the Serb had an 85% success rate behind his first delivery and did not face a break point all afternoon – the set was quickly over.
Further pain lay ahead for Anderson, who found himself in the unenviable position of having to weather relentless pressure with ball in hand while making scant impression on his opponent’s service. He saved a break point with an ace in the opening game of set two, but another loose game at 3-3 proved costly. It is no mean feat to lob a man who stands 6ft 8in tall, but Djokovic made it look like simplicity itself, sending a perfectly measured backhand beyond Anderson and on to the baseline to convert the first of two break points. There was another break two games later as the depth and precision of Djokovic’s returns left Anderson floundering. He would finish the match with 25 unforced errors; Djokovic made just six.
“I’m very pleased,” said Djokovic at courtside afterwards. “Kevin is a terrific player, very dangerous on fast grass courts. I held my serve comfortably, but it’s never easy to play an opponent that has a lot of quality in his shots, particularly his serve, with a lot of experience, playing on a big stage.
“Making as few unforced errors as possible was one of the tactical goals today. I knew Kevin was going to serve big, I wouldn’t have too many chances to break. So I might as well try to play solid but not too risky, and I did much better than I thought I would. I mean, I believe in myself, but it was almost flawless.”
That it was. With his tennis irresistible, Djokovic’s chief obstacle was the Centre Court playing surface. For the second match in a row, and less than a day after Adrian Mannarino and Serena Williams had been forced to retire with injury after slipping on the grass, the top seed repeatedly struggled to keep his footing, slipping repeatedly. It is was not a match that will have done nothing to quell concerns about the surface. “I seem to be having a really nice connection with the grass,” joked Djokovic, who is aiming for a calendar year grand slam after winning the Australian and French Opens. “I don’t recall falling this much in the first two matches at Wimbledon.”
Dan Evans, the 22nd seed, led the British charge in the men’s singles with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, the world No 42. Cameron Norrie also progressed, completing his delayed first-round match against Lucas Pouille to claim only his second win at the All England Club. Norrie, a finalist at Queen’s Club and seeded 29th at Wimbledon, ran out a 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 winner against the Frenchman. Liam Broady was unable to complete a British hat-trick, however, losing out to Diego Schwartzman, the ninth seed, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Matteo Berrettini, the Queen’s champion, advanced with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Guido Pella of Argentina, but Ugo Umbert, the 21st-seeded Frenchman, was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 9-7 by Nick Kyrgios.