Wimbledon tennis 2021 - 'Obviously a concern' - Novak Djokovic falls worry Mats Wilander against Jack Draper
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Updated 28/06/2021 at 16:03 GMT
World number one Novak Djokovic rallied back from a set down to secure his place in the second round of Wimbledon 2021 after beating Britain's Jack Draper. Djokovic ultimately had too much for the 19-year-old wildcard and won through, 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2, despite both players having trouble with their footing on the grass with numerous slips leaving Eurosport's Mats Wilander concerned.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic slips on the grass as she returns against Britain's Jack Draper during their men's singles first round match on the first day of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon
Image credit: Getty Images
Novak Djokovic won through to the second round of Wimbledon after a four-set win over Britain's Jack Draper but Mats Wilander was concerned by numerous slips from the two players on the grass courts.
Draper received a standing ovation he will never forget after he took the opening set of his first-round clash against the defending champion from 2019 in front of a jubilant crowd at SW19.
It was a hugely special moment for the 19-year-old wildcard as he closed out the first set, 6-4, in front of the Centre Court crowd and he was given a massive roar of approval after doing so.
But the top seed showed his class to recover from the opening set and powered on with three dominant sets on the bounce to comfortably progress as he chases a third successive Grand Slam this season.
Despite it being an entertaining match, Eurosport expert Wilander was left concerned by the pair repeatedly slipping on the grass court and seemingly finding their footing unreliable.
"Obviously it has to do with the court being very green," Wilander told Eurosport from Wimbledon. "It was obviously very tricky, very difficult to stand up and not slip around.
"The practice courts are much browner as they have been played on a lot more. But I also think it has to do with the game getting a little bit faster all the time. The players have less time to react, and therefore they are pushing off.
Both players were slipping quite a bit and that is obviously a concern for the future of grass-court tennis. Do we need bigger spikes on the shoes? I don't know what to do.
"What Novak and Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] are so good at is the early goings in the second set. It doesn't matter to them if they have lost or won the prior set, and he came out and served a lot better. It tells me that the serve for Djokovic on grass is key."
Before the start of the match there was an emotional ovation for NHS staff, scientists and Captain Sir Tom Moore.
There were very heartwarming scenes on Centre Court as the stadium announcer led the crowd into a rousing reception for the people who have helped the country through the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts as he walks onto centre court ahead of his Men's Singles First Round match against Jack Draper of Great Britain during Day One of The Championships - Wimbledon 2021
Image credit: Getty Images
Seated in the Royal Box as distinguished guests, the NHS staff and scientists were given a huge standing ovation.
There was then a warm round of applause for Moore and others before Djokovic and Draper walked out to the stirring scenes.
The young Brit could not have done much more to challenge his illustrious opponent early on, but he could not sustain the resistance as Djokovic found his groove after the surprise opening set.
As the Serb found a rhythm on his first serve, in particular, he accelerated away and never looked in any trouble thereafter as he secured his place in the second round after exactly two hours.
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Watch daily evening highlights of all the best action from Wimbledon on Eurosport 1, plus the men's and women's finals live on Eurosport 2. All coverage is also available to stream via eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app.
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