24-time Grand Slam and seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic kicked off his campaign at the 2025 All England Championships with a win in four sets against Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6(7)-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round at SW19.
Despite some stumbles, the Serb did well to progress in an opening round that saw several seeded players including 3rd seed Alexander Zverev, 8th seed Holger Rune and 9th seed Daniil Medvedev all depart SW19 earlier than expected. The ladies’ singles draw suffered the same fate with behemoths and defending French Open champion 2nd seed Coco Gauff, 3rd seed Jessica Pegula and 9th seed Paula Badosa all bowing out in the first round.
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Djokovic's victory in the first round meant that his record extended to an impressive 20-0 in opening round matches at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, meaning that he had never been eliminated in the first round. He has also reached the final of the last six editions of Wimbledon, a staggering feat even for the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
The 38-year-old who is on a quest to tie Roger Federer for the most Wimbledon gentlemen's singles titles ever at eight, started strong with a convincing win. However, after losing the second set to make it 1-1 in the match, troubles started flowing for the Serb. Djokovic, after going 2-1 down in the third set, called for a doctor with some pain in his stomach. He would ask for a medical time-out later in the set again.
The man who last triumphed at SW19 in 2022 stated that he went from feeling his absolute best in the opening sets to worst for 45 minutes. He also said that while he didn't know if it was a stomach bug or not, the doctor's miracle pills gave him his energy back and saw him through the rest of the game.
"I went from feeling my absolutely best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes," Djokovic said. "Whether it was a stomach bug—I don't know what it is, but just struggled with that. The energy kind of kicked back after some doctor's miracle pills and I managed to finish the match on a good note." (via tennis.com)
The Serb was immediately rushed to the hospital following his victory following which he confirmed that he was all okay despite not knowing what the cause of the issue was, and only that "something was off with his stomach".
When asked about whether he considered retiring due to this illness, the veteran player was quick to dismiss it by saying that he didn't even think of it as an option.
"No, I honestly wasn't thinking about that or taking that as an option," said the seven-time Wimbledon winner.
Novak Djokovic backs himself to go all the way at the 2025 All England Championships
When speaking of his chances at making it eight championship wins at the All England Club, the 38-year-old noted that he wouldn't be here if he didn't think he had a chance. Djokovic mentioned that towards the latter stages of his career, he has played his best tennis on grass and has earned the right to feel like he can go all the way at every tournament.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I have a chance. I think I always have a chance. I think I earned my right to really feel like I can go all the way to the title," the 38-year-old from Serbia said. "I always felt like grass, particularly in the second part of my career, was really the surface where I played my best tennis. So why not do it again?" (via tennis.com)
The Serb accumulated a whopping 27 break points in his encounter against Muller, but converted only seven in his three hours and 19 minutes on the court.
He mentioned how he was particularly pleased with his serving in his opening round encounter.
"I came up with some big serves," said Djokovic. "Overall, I served very well today. That's one of the things I've been working on."
The seven-time Wimbledon victor now faces Dan Evans from Great Britain, who progressed following an emphatic straight sets win against fellow countryman Jay Clarke 6-1, 7-5, 6-2, on Thursday in the second round.
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