Novak Djokovic, hunched over with a towel in hand, delighted the crowd on Center Court during a rain delay at Wimbledon on Monday as he wiped some moisture off the pitch. It seemed appropriate for someone who has basically done the same thing to their opponents at this tournament for the past five years.
Djokovic hasn’t lost a single game at Wimbledon since 2017 and with a win over Argentina’s Pedro Cachin in the first round encounter on Monday he extended his record from the last five Wimbledon tournaments to 29-0. He has won the last four men’s singles titles and another this year would put him in a position to eclipse even more names in the record book.
If Djokovic can clinch his fifth consecutive title at the All England Club, he will have taken home the first three Major trophies of 2023 and his chances of winning the first men’s Grand Slam (all four Majors in the same year) since Rod Laver increased it in 1969. He was also only the third man to do so, along with Laver (1962 and 1969) and Don Budge in 1938. Three women have accomplished this feat: Maureen Connolly in 1953, Margaret Court in 1970, and Steffi Graf in 1988.
Djokovic would also equal Roger Federer in most Wimbledon singles titles (eight) and Bjorn Borg in most consecutive titles (five). Eventually, he would match Court’s record 24 Major titles and would be the only player to do so fully in the Open era. (Court won 13 majors before 1968, at a time when professionals weren’t allowed to compete in the majors.)
On Monday, Djokovic, the no.
“It’s a feeling like no other tournament in the world, stepping onto Wimbledon’s Center Court as the defending champion, on the fresh grass,” he said. “It’s great to be back in a dream tournament and to get past the first game.”
Wimbledon was the first tennis tournament Djokovic watched on TV growing up in Serbia and it has fascinated him ever since. And while that’s true of thousands of players, few have enjoyed it as much as Djokovic, munching on blades of grass immediately after winning his titles (as opposed to his win on the red clay at Roland Garros).
Winning on grass, especially at a time when there are so few tournaments on the surface and the season is so short, is particularly challenging and Djokovic rarely takes part in the warm-up tournaments anymore. There are many tactical aspects that differentiate grass courts from clay courts and hard courts, even today when Wimbledon’s surface is much springier and faster than it used to be.
For Djokovic, who enjoys sliding across hard courts and clay while reaching for balls from long range and at the net, the grass at Wimbledon doesn’t allow for the same kind of horizontal movement. But Djokovic has become as adept as anyone at transitioning from clay to grass in a short space of time.
“I had to learn how to move,” he said, “how to walk, how to play, how to read the jumps, etc.”
But on Monday, the grass was actually too slippery for a while after a light rainstorm towards the end of the first set of Djokovic’s win, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) over Cachin. It was Djokovic’s toughest obstacle of the day.
The game was stopped, the tarpaulin spread out over the playing field and the roof rolled down. Normally the places dry in less than half an hour. But on Monday, the dampness mysteriously persisted, and tournament officials and players returned to a still-slippery pitch.
In all, the delay lasted nearly 90 minutes, a surprising length for a covered pitch. But Djokovic endeared himself to the disappointed crowd by using his towel and joking with them like he could fix everything himself. Given his success on that patch of grass – he hasn’t lost on Center Court since 2013 – some might have expected him to pull it off.
Some wondered if his good humor was a sign that Djokovic, who had his 23rd Major men’s singles title safely in his hands, was now more relaxed and cheerful.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a unique feeling for me just because I’ve won my 23rd Slam,” he said. “I’ve always tried to have fun in certain situations where you can’t control things. I’ve also had some fun rain delays in Paris and New York where I joked around.”
He admitted to being physically and emotionally exhausted after his win at the French Open in June. So he and his wife Jelena traveled to the Azores islands in Portugal to hike and relax. They were even forced to spend an extra day there because fog prevented their original flight home.
“It was great because I went through a lot of different emotions during the clay court season,” he said, “especially obviously reaching the climax in Paris and I needed to get away, to isolate a little bit.”
One player Djokovic hasn’t struggled with this year is Nick Kyrgios, his opponent in last year’s Wimbledon final. Kyrgios, who was recovering from left knee surgery in January, retired from the tournament on the eve of day one after an examination revealed a torn ligament in his wrist.
“I think people just forget how exhausting this sport is, how physical it is,” Kyrgios said on Sunday before announcing his wrist injury. “I’m challenging someone to go out and play four hours with Novak and see how you feel afterwards.”
Since Djokovic’s current run began in 2018, they’ve all been wiped out.