Before taking to the court, just a month after suffering a torn meniscus and undergoing surgery, Novak Djokovic made sure he was not breaking Wimbledon’s strict dress code – outfits must be “almost entirely white”, which has been in place since 1995 – with the grey knee brace he wore to provide greater stability to the knee he injured at Roland Garros.
“Just before I went in, the president (of the club, Sally Bolton) gave me the thumbs up, so it was fine. And obviously we had asked in the previous days to make sure we had permission. I tried to find a white one, believe me; I know it is not ideal, because I like to go all in white and respect the rules, but I have promised them that I will do everything possible so that the next day it is white,” argued the Serbian after winning the opening match against Vit Koprova (123rd in the world) without any setbacks. Everything was in order, as if nothing had happened. Test passed: 6-1, 6-2 and 6-2, in 1h 58m. The joint operated on June 5 in Paris is responding, waiting to face greater challenges that may demand more of it.
The next one will be against the British Jacob Fearnley, the 277th, executioner of the Madrid player Alejandro Moro (7-5, 6-4 and 7-6(12). And Nole, 37 years old, will arrive with good feelings and, he stresses, he has not come to go through a few rounds but directly to go for the title. “I didn’t know how I was going to feel or if the knee was going to hold up, so I am very, very happy with how I played and how I moved. I couldn’t ask for a better start,” said the Belgrade player; “I didn’t feel any kind of pain, and that’s good. In the second set, when I broke his serve, I made my first slip, because until now (he tried in Hurlingham last week) I hadn’t done any, not even in training. It was a great test, so I am happy. It’s comforting.”
Tuesday’s round of action also saw the victories of Jessica Bouzas (6-4, 6-2 over Marketa Vondrousova) and Jaume Munar over Billy Harris (6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3); in the opposite direction, Roberto Carballés (6-2, 6-4, 6-2 over Alexander Zverev) and Rebeka Masarova (6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in favour of Liudmila Samsonova) said goodbye. The programme for Wednesday will feature the intervention of Murcia’s Carlos Alcaraz, who will meet Aleksandar Vukic (around 4:00 p.m., Movistar+), as well as that of Paula Badosa, who will face the young Brenda Fruhvirtova (88th) in the third round on court 17, where the action starts at 12:00 p.m.
PERRICARD, THE LAST HAMMER: 51 ‘ACES’
A natural habitat for servers, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club has discovered the hammer blows of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The promising 20-year-old Frenchman hit an impressive 51 aces in his match against Sebastian Korda. This is his first victory in a Grand Slam (7-6(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-7(4) and 6-3).
Perricard entered the main draw at the last minute, after being re-entered due to the withdrawal of Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich, who was suffering from lumbago. The Frenchman has progressed from 12th to 20th and 44th aces in the three matches played in the qualifying phase—and now threatens Japanese Yohihito Nishioka.
Currently ranked 58th in the ATP, by surpassing fifty aces in a match he joins illustrious figures such as Roger Federer (50), Reilly Opelka (67), Ivo Karlovic (78) and the protagonists of the longest match in history (11h 05m), the one decided at Wimbledon in 2010, between Nicolás Mahut (103) and John Isner (113).
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