After Novak Djokovic won last year’s French Open, Goran Ivanisevic, his coach at the time, explained why he had been unconcerned by the Serb’s indifferent form in the build-up to the event.
“He has this software in his head that he can switch when a grand slam comes,” said Ivanisevic. “A grand slam is a different sport compared to other tournaments. He switches his software. The day we arrived here, he was better, he was more motivated, he was more hungry. Every day he played better and better.”
Slowly but inexorably, the software is sparking into life again at Wimbledon.
Djokovic, a seven-time champion in these parts, was not perfect in the face of a skilled and spirited challenge from Jacob Fearnley, a British wild card ranked 277 in the world. Even as he established early control of a contest he would go on to win 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, he had some uncomfortable moments. One minute, the 37-year-old would be steering groundstrokes of immaculate length and precision into the corners. The next, his movement and balance, the twin pillars of his game, seemed to desert him, resulting in an ungainly tangle of arms and legs.
Given that it is barely four weeks since Djokovic abruptly abandoned his title defence at Roland Garros to undergo surgery on his right knee, such difficulties are only to be expected. It took intensive, daily rehab merely to make the starting line at the All England Club, and the knee brace he has been wearing has served as a constant visual reminder that it is borderline miraculous he is at Wimbledon at all.
“I do feel that it has an impact on my movement, in terms of the speed,” said Djokovic of his recent brush with the surgeon’s knife. “It’s not yet there, where I want it to be. I’m kind of late on balls that I’m normally not late on. So that’s the part which, I guess, comes with matches. The longer I stay in the tournament, I think the better the chances that my movement will improve.
“The earlier rounds is where I’m still a little bit rusty on the movement, I think. That’s what I felt today, at least. But I don’t worry about reinjuring my knee. I don’t have time nor energy to think about it, nor do I think it’s worth it. I wouldn’t be here unless I think – not just myself, but the whole team – that I’m ready to compete at this level.
“The more matches I have, the better the chance I’ll have to feel more comfortable moving around and gain that speed, agility, change of direction – that freedom that I’m looking for, really. I had it in certain moments today, certain moments in the first match [against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva], but then it’s still not there. In a way, it’s expected and normal when you come back from surgery. The body’s trying to understand what’s going on.”
Indeed, curiosity about what is going on has ranged far beyond Djokovic’s own body. Many have struggled to understand why, having prioritised the summer Olympics, where a gold medal remains the only significant omission from his glittering résumé, he elected to put his season on the line by competing in SW19. But Djokovic, beaten by Carlos Alcaraz over five epic sets in last year’s final, was desperate to give himself the chance to challenge for a record-equalling eighth title, and he can only have drawn confidence from his latest victory, which provided a far stiffer test of his recovery than most anticipated.
Fearnley, a 22-year-old from Edinburgh with junior wins over Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to his name but scant experience at this level, could hardly have done more. He stayed with Djokovic throughout the opening two sets, holding his own in the baseline exchanges, crushing forehands and using his heavy serve to telling effect. Only twice did Fearnley offer up a break point; on both occasions, Djokovic capitalised in clinical fashion. Such is the difference between plying your trade in American college tennis – like Cameron Norrie, Fearnley attended Texas Christian University – and making your grand slam debut against a man who has won 24 of the things.
With nothing to show for maintaining an extraordinarily high level across the first two sets, it would have been easy for Fearnley to lose heart. But his belief never wavered. When he dropped serve early in the third set, he hit back immediately, prising an error to break Djokovic for the first time. When he found himself 15-40 down at 4-4, he recovered with a superb forehand winner and a lovely piece of anticipation at the net to move within a game of the set. And when Djokovic snuffed out that opportunity, Fearnley simply created another. Two games later, with the world No 2 serving to stay in the set for a second time, Fearnley forced a volleying error before stretching to hit a deep forehand return that caught Djokovic on his heels. The set was his.
Had Fearnley converted a break point with Djokovic serving at 2-3 in the fourth set, who knows how the match might have unfolded. But the Serb slotted away an overhead to ward off the danger, and from there an eerie calm descended on him, an imperturbability that we have seen many times before. Victory was inevitable from that point, but Djokovic knew he had been in a fight.
“Credit to him for playing a really great match,” said Djokovic. “He fought, kept believing even though he was two sets down and a break down. He got the crowd involved. I dropped my level and I think I should have done some things better in the third set to finish it off.
“But very challenging conditions today, very windy and not easy to find the right tempo and the right rhythm on the ball. I think I just did enough to win there in the fourth. I was a bit lucky to get out of trouble, not to go a break down. Hopefully I can raise the level in the upcoming rounds.”
There lies the only potential cloud on the horizon for Djokovic, assuming his fitness holds. When the draw pitted him against a qualifier followed by a wild card, the natural assumption was that the first couple of rounds would give the former champion a chance to ease himself into the fortnight. Fearnley ensured otherwise, and Djokovic will need to raise his game still further against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, who scored a five-set upset Tomás Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, the 30th seed, and pushed him hard in the second round of this year’s Australian Open. Stand by for another software reboot.