Marcus Willis, a 25-year-old lefthander who has been working as a tennis coach, stunned 53rd-ranked Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in front of a wildly cheering crowd on tiny Court 17. He doesn’t have weaknesses in his game.
Advertisement
Federer played grass-court events in Stuttgart and Halle earlier this month in a bid to prove his fitness, but although he was happy with how his body responded, the results were a further dent to his morale.
“I try to sneak in an extra towel here and there during the match, using the excuse that it’s too warm and I’m sweating”, said the top seed and champion in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Fast-forward to this month, when he was the last man invited to participate in a playoff for British players to earn a wild card into Wimbledon qualifying. I do think I’m serving better than I was then.
That consistency is something Djokovic admits has been his ultimate goal and it’s something he has laboured to achieve. He is targeting a third consecutive Wimbledon title, and fourth overall, and would take his grand slam tally to a total of 13 with victory this fortnight. Ward broke in the next game and the two players went to a tiebreaker, which Djokovic dominated to re-establish control.
“Nerves kicked in for James, obviously, but he started playing better, second part of the second set and it was very close”, Djokovic said.
“I’m trying to cherish these moments. I see still lots of room for improvement, things that I can work on”, Djokovic told reporters at Wimbledon. That’s something that encourages me. “That’s something that keeps me grounded, gives me more reason to practice”.
Tennis: Novak Djokovic launched his title defence in good fashion, moving into the second round in a touch over two hours.
Top-ranked Serena Williams hasn’t won a Grand Slam since Wimbledon a year ago, but the 21-time major champion appeared confident about her chances of retaining the title on the eve of the tournament.
“But I think the beauty of all the grand slams and of this sport is that you always start from scratch and you always start from the same starting position as everybody else, fighting for the trophy equally as everybody else”.
“Those first few days were tough psychologically and physically and although I recovered from it, I was up against Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals and I ended up being on court for another hour and 20 longer than I needed to in that match as well”.
Advertisement
Asked how it would feel to face a player of his calibre, Djokovic reflected the thoughts of the majority of the men’s tour when he laughed: “Well, I don’t want to go on the other side!” He is very experienced and knows exactly what to expect. Having won the Australian Open and French Open, he’s also seeking to become the first man to capture the first three legs of a calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver swept all four majors in 1969.
