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“I went from feeling my absolutely best for a
set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes,”
Djokovic said. “Whether it was a stomach bug — I don't know what
it is, but just struggled with that. The energy kind of kicked
back after some doctor’s miracle pills and I managed to finish
the match on a good note.”
He improved to 20-0 in opening matches at the All England Club,
where he has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam titles. He's been to
the final at each of the last six editions, although he lost at
that stage to Carlos Alcaraz in 2023 and 2024.
“I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I have a chance. I think I
always have a chance. I think I earned my right to really feel
like I can go all the way to the title,” the 38-year-old from
Serbia said. “I always felt like grass, particularly in the
second part of my career, was really the surface where I played
my best tennis. So why not do it again?”
Djokovic avoided the sort of upset that's been rampant on the
tournament's initial two days: A total of 23 seeds — 13 men, 10
women — already is out of the field, tying the highest number at
a Grand Slam tournament since 2001, when they began seeding 32
players in each singles bracket.
Did he consider stopping Tuesday because of how he was feeling?
“No,” he replied. “I honestly wasn't thinking about that or
taking that as an option.”
Djokovic accumulated a whopping 27 break points against the
unseeded Muller, converting seven.
Across the 3 hours, 19 minutes, Djokovic only faced three break
chances for Muller — none until the last set — and saved each.
“I came up with some big serves,” said Djokovic, who will face
Dan Evans of Britain on Thursday. “Overall, I served very well
today. That's one of the things I've been working on.”
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