Novak Djokovic is back on Centre Court today, taking on Stefanos Tsitsipas in his second-round match-up at Wimbledon. The seven-time champion had a taxing start to his SW19 title tilt this year, battling to a 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 win over China's Wu Yibing in the first round.
Djokovic's First-Round Struggle
The 39-year-old, now ranked No. 8 in the world, has not won a grand slam since triumphing at the US Open in 2023. Speaking after his four-set victory, Djokovic admitted it had been a challenging start. "It's better when you win in the end. It's not the first time I'm showing and talking about the significance of Wimbledon in my career and my life," Djokovic said. "It felt really challenging today, Wu deserves a round of applause for his incredible performance. As for how I'm feeling, I'm feeling happy but not the freshest I guess. It didn't feel like the first round to be honest."
Djokovic noted the difficulty of adjusting to changing conditions: "It felt like we played two different matches; one with the open roof and the closed roof. It affects the conditions and the moisture of the grass. It becomes more slippery, so you have to adjust and adapt to that but it's not easy because once you're in the point you want to give your best." He added, "He put me under a lot of pressure. I've never faced him before; I knew that he loves hitting the ball very flat and very aggressively from the back of the court and he loves protecting the line."
Next Challenge: Tsitsipas
Djokovic now faces another tricky test against former French and Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas. The former world No. 3 is unseeded for the Championships and historically struggles on grass in west London. Tsitsipas will be looking to upset the seven-time champion and advance to the third round.
Tsitsipas vs Djokovic Start Time
Tsitsipas and Djokovic are third up on Centre Court, and are not expected to play before 5pm BST. No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner takes on Nuno Borges first up from 1:30pm, followed by No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva facing Barbora Krejcikova.
How to Watch Tsitsipas vs Djokovic
TV channel: In the UK, live free-to-air coverage of the action at Wimbledon will be broadcast across BBC One and BBC Two. Coverage on BBC Two begins at 10:30am BST, and further coverage on BBC One begins at 2pm.
Live stream: TV license holders can also catch the contest live online via BBC iPlayer.
Live blog: You can follow all the action live with Standard Sport’s dedicated blog.
