Soonwoo Kwon gave Novak Djokovic’s ambitions of winning Wimbledon in 2022 a hard initial test on Monday, but the defending champion remained determined to prevail over the South Korean and go to the second round at the grass-court Grand Slam in London. Soonwoo Kwon is from South Korea.
In his first tour-level encounter since his Roland Garros quarter-final on May 31, Djokovic was never entirely comfortable due to Kwon’s aggressive tactics, even though the Serbian maintained a good level throughout his 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 triumph against the the the World No. 81. The South Korean was up a break in each of the opening two games and cheered up the Center Court audience when he leveled the proceedings at a set each; nevertheless, Novak Djokovic’s signature consistency was enough to secure a triumph that took two hours and 27 minutes to accomplish.
During his on-court interview, Novak Djokovic said, “I’ve mentioned this before but this court is very amazing.” “For me, it has always been the court I dreamt of playing and winning [on], and since all of my childhood goals came true here, it is an honor and a joy to be back on Center Court,” he said. “For me, it has always been the court I dreamed of playing and winning [on].”
With this victory, Novak Djokovic has now gone 22 matches without suffering a loss at Wimbledon. After winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in May, the Serbian is aiming to win his fourth straight championship in the third major of the year in London. This would be his second tour-level victory of 2022, after his victory in May at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Kwon was looking for only his fourth tour-level victory on grass, but the South Korean looked at ease in the early exchanges on Center Court as he hammered the ball cleanly from both wings. Kwon’s goal was to win his fourth match on grass. He had an early lead of 3-1 after breaking the opponent’s serve, but Djokovic quickly got into his own groove and won the opening set by reeling off five games in a row to win the victory.
The South Korean’s performance reached new heights in the second set, putting to rest any speculation that Kwon may lose his edge after getting off to such a strong start. He did so by pressing forward to great impact while dominating rallies, which let him break Djokovic to love for a 3-1 lead. Kwon’s comeback from 0/40 to hold in the following game was almost as spectacular as the break, and he held firm to level the match by converting his first set point in the ninth game. Kwon won the match by holding firm to level the match.
Despite this setback, Novak Djokovic’s movement around the court was crisp in his first competitive outing on the grass in the year 2022. The Serbian was able to reclaim control of the match in the third and fourth sets when he improved his consistency from the baseline. One break of serve in each set was all that was enough for him to claim victory and extend his advantage in the ATP Head2Head series against Kwon to 2-0.
Novak Djokovic had some early difficulties, but he settled down on his serve and closed out the victory. The player, who is 35 years old, was successful in winning 86 percent (54/63) of points behind his initial delivery, and his final total of 31 wins included 15 aces.
The top seed will play either Thanasi Kokkinakis or Kamil Majchrzak in the second round of competition at SW19, where he currently has a record of 80-10. The third-ranked player in the world is currently competing at Wimbledon in the hopes of winning his seventh championship there. If he is successful, he will tie the record held by the legendary American Pete Sampras and move closer to the record held by Roger Federer, who has won eight Wimbledon titles.
Djokovic said, “I am just as committed as everybody else out there.” “Although I am no longer one of the younger players, my passion for this sport is still strong, and I make it a point to play my best tennis in the Grand Slams and to produce my best tennis on the greatest courts. Now that we’ve reached 80 [wins at Wimbledon], let’s push ourselves to go to 100.”
