Incertain pendant très longtemps en raison d'une opération au genou après Roland-Garros, le numéro 2 mondial Novak Djokovic a largement rassuré sur son niveau de jeu en écrasant le Tchèque Vit Kopriva pour leur premier duel (6-1, 6-2, 6-2). Le Serbe avait battu Daniil Medvedev en match d'exhibition quelques jours avant Wimbledon et ne souffrait d'aucune douleur. Le premier test officiel a été réussi. Il défiera au prochain tour le local Jacob Fearnley.
Video : @Wimbledon
Video : @Wimbledon
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00:00Novak must feel good to get that win under your belt.
00:07He does.
00:09Practice week, as I was mentioning before, went great.
00:12But obviously, match play, official match on the centre court,
00:16something completely different.
00:19So I didn't know how I'm going to feel on the court
00:22and how me is going to hold up.
00:24But I'm very happy.
00:26Very happy with the way I felt, with the way I played,
00:28the way I moved.
00:30For an opening match, I couldn't ask for a better start.
00:34Novak, congratulations.
00:36I noticed Ronnie O'Sullivan was in your box.
00:38Are you a big snooker fan?
00:40Do you know the Rocket?
00:42I'm his fan.
00:44I watch snooker just because of him.
00:46I watched it when I was a kid, honestly.
00:49I watched him play many years ago.
00:51My father loved watching snooker.
00:55I only watched Ronnie.
00:58Whenever he would not play, I wouldn't watch.
01:00We just had a meet-up and interaction for the first time.
01:04It was great.
01:06He was one of the sport greats that I used to watch when I was a kid.
01:12It was really nice to have him around.
01:16Hopefully, we'll be able to play some snooker.
01:20I'm really bad at snooker.
01:23I don't know if it's a pool or billiard.
01:25I tried it twice, and it's really tough.
01:30It's amazing.
01:32He's a really nice person, nice guy, and very funny.
01:38Can you compare what you were managing today
01:41in terms of any kind of limitations
01:44versus what you managed in that last match in Paris
01:47that you survived against Rondolo?
01:50I know you had pain there.
01:52It was something completely different.
01:54Can you compare those two experiences?
01:58Not really comparable because the surface is different.
02:02Obviously, the sensation on the court was different.
02:05The different opponent, obviously.
02:10Rondolo on clay, a very tough challenge,
02:14even if you're healthy.
02:19Different circumstances, really.
02:21I didn't have any kind of pain that I had in that match today.
02:26That's good.
02:30Obviously, I started a little bit more cautious, I would say.
02:33I didn't really maybe go for certain shots 100%
02:36in terms of the far balls at the first set.
02:40But I played, I think, just enough
02:44to win comfortably in straight sets.
02:47I felt like as the match progressed,
02:49I moved better.
02:51There were a couple of points when I broke him in the second set.
02:54I did one slide.
02:57That was the first slide of the grass court season for me.
03:01I haven't done it even in a practice week.
03:04That was a great test.
03:06After that, I felt happy that I did it
03:10because in a way, you also feel mentally hesitant
03:15to do those extreme movements.
03:18But knowing that I can do it is obviously very comforting
03:23and very positive.
03:25Charlie?
03:27I just wanted to ask you about Andy,
03:29about the singles today.
03:31If you can summarise your relationship with him
03:34over the last two decades plus
03:36and any standout memories with you and him.
03:41Very, obviously, sad news for the tournament
03:44and for the tennis world to hear
03:48that he withdrew from the singles event here in Wimbledon.
03:51I hear that he's going to try to play doubles.
03:55I mean, hopefully he can get another shot
04:00at next year's Wimbledon with singles.
04:02Knowing him, he's going to try to do that.
04:05Just incredible resilience throughout all his career.
04:15Multiple Grand Slam winner,
04:17Legend of the Game, number one in the world.
04:20Going to play Challenger Circuit to build his rankings.
04:25On clay, that is his least favourite surface,
04:28says a lot about his character.
04:31Just huge inspiration to all of the players.
04:36Doesn't mind getting out on the court for hours every day.
04:41Incredible professional.
04:46Just his approach is something to study, no doubt.
04:50His will to push and see how far he can go,
04:58even with an artificial hip,
05:02is something that is just inspiring,
05:07but also serves as a great example,
05:11I think, to a lot of the athletes,
05:13the younger ones that start to complain about this and that.
05:20He has left a great mark on and off the court,
05:22no doubt, for the tennis.
05:24But something tells me again that he will keep going.
05:28And he deserved, of course,
05:31he has every right to say when it's the finish line for him.
05:36So if he wants to keep going,
05:38no doubt that people will be very happy about it.
05:42Hi Novak, great to see you back out on the centre court.
05:44I just wanted to talk about the knee sleeve,
05:46because it looked grey from the crowds.
05:48I know.
05:49Just wondered...
05:50Grey or great?
05:51It looked grey, the colour.
05:53Grey, yeah, it is grey.
05:54I just wondered, with the Wimbledon all-white policy,
05:57whether you were nervous about the colour of the knee sleeve.
05:59I did check.
06:00I did check.
06:01I actually just met the chairwoman
06:05just before walking onto the court.
06:07She gave me thumbs up, so it was OK.
06:10And of course, we did check in the days prior
06:13if we have a permission.
06:15We're trying to find a white one, trust me.
06:21I saw Francis Tiafoe played.
06:23He had actually a black colour sleeve.
06:28Grey, I think it's maybe slightly better towards the white.
06:35Yeah, I know it's not ideal,
06:37and I like to go all-white,
06:39and I like to respect the rules.
06:42But I got the permission,
06:43so I said to them that we'll give our best
06:47to try to find for the next match the white one.
06:53In your next round, Novak,
06:54you're playing Jacob Fernley, a British player.
06:56I just wondered if you know anything about him,
06:58if you've ever seen him hit or anything like that,
07:01or seen any of his matches.
07:02No, no, I haven't seen him hit.
07:04I don't know really anything about him,
07:06so I'll have to do my homework.
07:09And I know he was granted a wild card to play in the tournament.
07:16So, yeah, I will definitely analyse his match of today
07:20and see who I am up against.
07:24Obviously, him being British,
07:26he's going to have the crowd,
07:28and you never like to play British in Wimbledon.
07:34But I'm looking forward to it.
07:36For me, it's just about really maintaining this good sensation,
07:41good feelings on the court,
07:43getting my body and my knee in shape
07:46to sustain the high level of potential five sets,
07:53and that's what matters most.
07:55Thank you. We're going to switch to Serbia.
07:57Thank you.