Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-breaking 25th major title was never likely to be derailed by a player once predicted to lead the next generation.
Despite admitting after his opening-round win to having the “luxury of picking and choosing” where he wants to play, Djokovic was not short of quality as he dispatched Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in just an hour and 38 minutes.
The match was one for the highlights reels. It was almost impossible to keep track of the thrilling points that sent Tsitsipas racing to the net or back to the baseline as Djokovic found a perfectly-timed lob or passing shot.
Although he celebrated his 39th birthday last month, Djokovic was so at ease on Centre Court that he took time between sets to ask a young girl working for the tournament to bring him a pair of scissors to cut a piece of kinesiology tape on his shoulder, before pretending she cut him.
“I guess these kinds of things surface when you’re two sets to love up but Stefanos went to change and I had some spare time and I’m sorry if I scared her, it was probably not that great a joke I guess,” he said on court, while the girl in question tried to hide out of shot of the camera. “But it made me a bit more relaxed on the court as well.”
There was one rally that won a standing ovation. Tsitsipas hit two smashes in succession that Djokovic found a way to return, before hitting a ball that just landed on the baseline and going on to win the point.
You would not have to roll back too many years for Djokovic taking on Tsitsipas to be a final rather than a second-round match. The pair met in two grand slam finals, with both the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open going in favour of Djokovic.
Tsitsipas was in the headlines more recently for his break-up with fellow tennis player Paula Badosa, who claimed she “suffered for a year” and called the environment “toxic”.
On the court, he has dropped from the seeded places to 80th in the world and looked a shadow of his former self, while Djokovic has benefited from a carefully managed schedule that allows him to perform on the biggest stage.
“I’m just not very happy with the result,” Tsitsipas said. “I want more, I want better and just hope to get back to work soon and try and learn from this defeat.”
When asked if he believes he is capable of producing the tennis that broke him into the world’s top 10 and reach grand slam finals again, he said: “I wouldn’t be playing if I didn’t think so, I would have stopped yesterday.”
In the end it was Djokovic insisting that “age is just a number” as he continues on his quest for a 25th major, and without Carlos Alcaraz in the draw it has opened up a touch for the seven-time Wimbledon champion.