World number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia secured himself a spot in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club following a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over British teenager, Jack Draper.
In the women’s singles, second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus progressed with a straight-sets win over Romanian qualifier, Monica Niculescu, 6-1, 6-4.
With the tournament cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was a further delay on day one due to rain. No matches took place on the outside courts.
Rookie British tennis star, Jack Draper, shocked world number one Djokovic with a sublime opening set. It was a flawless start from the defending champion taking the first game without losing a point. But the 19-year-old broke Djokovic’s serve in the third game to take the lead.
The youngster showed resilience in the eighth game with a comeback from love-40 down forcing it to deuce – eventually clinching the game with an ace for a five-three lead, before serving out the set.
Djokovic stepped up a notch in the second set. He broke Draper in the second game that saw him go three-love up. Draper won the fourth game despite Djokovic playing some good groundstrokes.
A serve down the line took the Brit to 40-30 – holding serve before hitting a big forehand to take the game. But Djokovic was untroubled in the set, winning it 6-1.
Djokovic once more showed intent in the third set breaking the youngster twice which proved to be decisive and he won it 6-2.
He again proved to be too strong for Draper in the final set. But it was the Brit that claimed the first game taking a 40-15 lead before Djokovic hit the ball out of play.
The Serb then continued with his dominant serve to level the set. He went on to win the next three games, breaking Draper twice in the process.
Djokovic served out the match without dropping points – serving three aces in the process.
