Novak Djokovic endured a complicated match in the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships on Thursday and spoke about his troubles afterward.
The Serbian's start at Wimbledon was amazing. He crushed his first-round opponent, Vit Kopriva, comfortably in three sets. After that match, nobody really questioned the state of his body or his knee, but some questions will arise after his second-round match.
He faced Jacob Fearnley, a native Brit who is very familiar with grass, and he showed it in the match on the Centre Court. Djokovic dropped his first set at the event and nearly dropped another one, barely escaping in four sets.
He didn't necessarily play badly, but his performance left a lot to be desired, especially in the third set, which he lost despite being in the lead. After the match, Djokovic openly admitted that he didn't play the match that well and confirmed that he didn't feel all too comfortable on the court, which is a troubling admission as things will only get harder in the coming days.
"I don’t know if I really had a champion’s mentality today. I was not really comfortable in my own skin, particularly in the third and fourth. Sometimes you have rough days when maybe you are not feeling your best, and of course it also depends on the opponent across the net – today Jacob played at a high level and he made me earn this victory."
While his admission was troubling, it was not enough to sound the alarm. He's coming off of meniscus surgery, so playing this week is a small miracle in itself.
The 24-time major winner probably didn't expect everything to go smoothly, but it raises questions about upcoming matches. He'll face tougher and tougher opponents, so how will he handle that?
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