Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame a scare to notch up his 80th Wimbledon win on Monday with a four-sets victory over Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea.
Six-time champion Djokovic triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 under the Centre Court roof.
But the top seed was made to work after falling a break down in the opening two sets against his 81st-ranked opponent – losing the second of those.
Djokovic becomes the first player to record 80 singles wins at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments in Open Era.
#Djokovic is the 1st player to win 80+ matches in all 4 #GrandSlam tournaments:@AustralianOpen 82-8@rolandgarros 85-16@Wimbledon 80-10@USOpen 81-13
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) June 27, 2022
“Now we have got to 80, let’s get to 100,” said Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam title winner.
“I didn’t play any lead-up tournaments before Wimbledon so you always feel less comfortable.
“Kwon stays close to the lines, hits clean forehands and backhands so I had to find a way to go through him.
“That meant figuring out tactically how to get control of the points.”
Djokovic will face either Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis or Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak for a place in the last 32.
(Report by AFP)
