(Tennis news) Defending champion Novak Djokovic made a winning start at Wimbledon after defeating Kwon Soon-woo in four sets 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4. The Serbian will hope to become only the fourth player to win the prestigious grass court event for the fourth consecutive time along with Roger Federer (2003-2006), Pete Sampras (1997-2000) and Bjorn Borg (1976-80). Djokovic has won the Wimbledon title six times in his career so far and will face either Thanasi Kokkinakis or Kamil Majchrzak in the second round. 

The 35 year old secured his 80th Wimbledon match in under two and a half hours and despite dropping the second set, Djokovic looked firmly in control of the proceedings. The win makes him the first tennis player to have won at least that many singles matches in each of the four Grand Slams. Speaking after the match from the Centre Court, the Serbian said “I've said this a few times before, but this court is truly special for me. It's always been the court I dreamed of playing and winning on. All of my childhood dreams came true here on this court at this tournament, so of course, it's an absolute honour and pleasure to come back." 

Djokovic hadn’t played on grass since winning the Wimbledon final in 2021 against Matteo Berrettini and gave credit to his opponent Kwon Soon-woo. Djokovic said “Credit to Kwon for playing some really high-quality tennis. I didn't have any lead-up, preparation tournaments or matches prior so you're always going to feel a little bit less comfortable than you would like to, particularly playing against someone as talented as him who stays close to the line and hits very cleanly on both sides. It was really difficult to hit through him, so I had to figure out a way tactically to get in control of the point. It wasn't easy." 

Meanwhile, Andy Murray fought back to defeat James Duckworth 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 in two hours and 43 minutes to progress into the second round of Wimbledon. The Scottish player was playing for the first time since he suffered an abdominal injury at the Stuttgart Open finals and will now face John Isner, who defeated Enzo Couacaud in five sets. Murray would be fairly confident heading into his next match, having an 8-0 record against the former semi-finalist. In the on-court interview, Murray said “It's amazing to be back out here with a full crowd. I am getting on a bit now so I don't know how many more opportunities I will get to play on this court so I want to make the most of every time. Glad I managed to get through and hopefully get another match on here in a couple of days. 

"I did well to rebound after the first set, he likes playing on grass, he was playing very well, once I started playing my returns a bit more as the match went on I felt a bit more comfortable and did well to get through it.” Speaking about his fitness, Murray said “The last few days when I've been serving was fine. I went to get a scan, an ultrasound scan on it on Saturday after my practice just to see how it was progressing. It was all clear for the first time on the scans, which is really positive. I wanted that kind of peace of mind to know that the injury has healed. Obviously I still need to take precautions and still do some rehab and protect it when I can. In the match today it was absolutely fine." 

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