By Shrivathsa Sridhar; Reuters.
Novak Djokovic launched his latest bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and standalone 25th Grand Slam crown with a battling 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 win over China’s plucky Wu Yibing in the first round on Monday.
Still fiercely competitive at the age of 39, Djokovic is looking to equal Roger Federer’s tally at the All-England Club and go past Margaret Court in the all-time list of Grand Slam titles, and he showed flair and fight to stay on track.
After shedding the custom Lacoste blazer he wore onto Centre Court, Djokovic got down to business, easing through the opening set and still finding time to acknowledge a successful marriage proposal in the stands with a heart-shaped gesture.
Wu, who returned to Grand Slam action this year after two injury-hit seasons, raised his level to snatch the second set and kept up the pressure for eight games in the next before Djokovic broke him and edged ahead in the contest.
Djokovic huffed and puffed in the fourth set before breaking for a 5-4 lead when Wu fired an overhead long, and the Serb duly wrapped up the physically draining match on serve to set up an intriguing meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Meanwhile women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka began her latest attempt to claim her first Wimbledon crown with a routine 6-2 6-3 defeat of Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic on Monday.
Elsewhere French Open champion Mirra Adreeva was given a good grasscourt workout before beating 59th-ranked Pole Magda Linette 7-5 6-4 in the first round at Wimbledon.