Novak Djokovic, three-time defending champion, lost a set but qualified for the second round of Wimbledon on Monday by eliminating South Korean Soon-woo Kwon (81st in the world) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2h27.

Novak Djokovic, three-time defending champion, lost a set but qualified for the second round of Wimbledon on Monday by eliminating South Korean Soon-woo Kwon (81st in the world) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2h27.

The 35-year-old Serb thus won his 80th match at the grass-court Major, becoming the first player, both male and female, to reach this bar in singles at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

“Now let’s go for 100!” Launched the world number 3 before leaving the center court, whose roof had been closed due to the rain, at times very heavy, that fell on Wimbledon on this first day of the tournament.

Djokovic, in search of a 7th title on the London lawn to return to a length of the record of 22 Grand Slam titles held by Rafael Nadal, admitted to being happy to have overcome this first round.

“Soon-woo played great quality tennis. For my part, I did not have a preparation tournament and therefore the first matches are always more complicated than expected. I had to find a tactical way to take control of the exchange,” he explained.

His start was therefore complicated against a 21-year-old player who bravely played his luck.

Leading 1-3 after losing serve in the first set, the Serb chained five games in a row to win the opening set.

An awkwardness in the crowd interrupted the start of the second set for a few minutes, but it was Kwon who again took the lead breaking to lead 3-1 and then confirming to break 4-1. This time, the South Korean kept the lead on him: widely supported by the crowd, he led 0-30 on serve at 5-3, fielding four points in a row to level a set everywhere.

In the third set, this time it was Djokovic who was the first to score three games, but without managing to beat Kwon.

Under mounting pressure from the Serb, Kwon, however, began to buckle, losing serve to allow Djokovic to take a 5-3 lead and serve to win the set, which he concluded with an ace.

The fourth set was just a formality: Djokovic broke to lead 3-2 and won with a 15th ace.

Not everything went well in his game on Monday, with 29 unforced errors in particular, but he was able to rely on a very good serve (15 aces for 2 double faults, 61% of the first serves passed and 86% of success after his first ball). ).

In the next round, Djokovic will face Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (79th) or Pole Kamil Majchrzak (91st).

AFP / Wimbledon (UK) (AFP) / © 2022 AFP