Longer Than Expected: Djokovic Advances At Wimbledon After Long Rain Delay

| by Zachary Wimer

Novak Djokovic started the 2023 Wimbledon with a solid win over Pedro Cachin, even though it took longer than he probably expected.

The first match at a Grand Slam tournament is never easy, and that's one of the reasons why players don't want to spend a lot of time on the court, saving energy for the future rounds. That was certainly also the mindset that Djokovic had when entering the match against the World No. 68 from Argentina.

Fighting for the World No. 1 spot on the ATP Tour at this year's event, Djokovic is as motivated as ever and it was obvious in his first-round match. He had never met Cachin on the ATP Tour before, and the Serb didn't want to wait a long time before showing his opponent his weapons.

But it was Cachin who had his say first. The Argentinian broke the 23-time Grand Slam champion's serve to lead 2-1 in the opening set, but Djokovic, who was helped by his son in preparation for the match, immediately responded with a break back.

Adding another break, the 36-year-old won the opening set 6-3, but the rain already started falling down as the roof had to be closed after the opening set and the court had to be covered. Once the players returned to the court, it was too slippery to continue and even Djokovic helped to dry it.

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Players had to wait over 70 minutes before finally continuing, but the break didn't stop Djokovic. He started the second set with a break, and once again, he added one more break to win the second set 6-3, and head into the third set with a 2-0 lead.

The third set proved to be the most challenging for the Serb. Cachin had more break points than his opponent, but after both players failed to use their chances, the set had to be decided in a tie-break.

Using his experience, Djokovic showed why he's the best player in the world when it comes to tie-breaks, and won it 7-4 to win the match 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4) and set up a second-round meeting with Jordan Thompson, who defeated Brandon Nakashima in five sets.

Despite starting at 1:30 PM local time, and playing for only around two hours, the match ended nearly four hours after it started, but Djokovic was smiling during the on-court interview after the match.

"It was definitely frustrating for the crowd, waiting for us to come on the court. And for us players, we both wanted to play but the conditions were still slippery. But this is the holy grail, the temple of tennis, this court, it's really something special."

"And every time I come out, I usually come out with racquets, not with towels, but it was fun to do something different, but hopefully, you guys liked it."

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