Novak Djokovic came through a difficult first-round test at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships on Monday against world number 102 Wu Yibing.
The Serb, in pursuit of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title at the All England Club, beat the Chinese star in four sets on Centre Court in three hours and 11 minutes, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic was in clear physical discomfort towards the latter stages of the contest, but managed to stay the course and advance to round two, where he’ll face Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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With the victory, he continued his 21-year-long streak of having never lost in the first round of Wimbledon.
The result also meant Djokovic has become the first player in the Open Era to achieve an incredible feat.
Novak Djokovic achieves historic feat with first-round victory
Djokovic is now the first player in the Open Era to win more than 80 Grand Slam singles opening round matches.
The 39-year-old has entered 83 major tournaments during his illustrious career, with just two first-round exits to his name.
Both of those defeats came at the Australian Open early on in his playing days, in 2005 and 2006.
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Since then, the 24-time major winner has been unstoppable in his opening matches on the biggest stages.
As well as his bid to become the all-time outright leader in Grand Slam titles, surpassing Margaret Court, Djokovic is looking to equal Roger Federer‘s record for the most Wimbledon crowns in men’s singles history (8).
Djokovic’s last triumph in SW19 came in 2022, when he battled past Nick Kyrgios to hoist his seventh title at the event.
Novak Djokovic’s head-to-head record against Stefanos Tsitsipas
Djokovic is no stranger to his second-round opponent at Wimbledon, Tsitsipas, whom he has faced 14 times at ATP Tour-level competitions.
Tsitsipas booked his place in the second round with a comfortable straight-sets win over Hugo Gaston, but he’ll face a much harder assignment in the form of Djokovic, having not beaten him in his last 11 attempts.
The Greek star won their first career clash back in 2018, and won their third meeting in 2019 to lead the rivalry again after Djokovic equalised.
But Djokovic has not lost to Tsitsipas since then, with two of his 11 victories over the former world number three coming in Grand Slam finals; Roland Garros 2021 and the Australian Open 2023.
Their most recent bout was played at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Djokovic came out on top en route to his maiden gold medal.
Djokovic and Tsitsipas have never faced each other on grass, however, and now the two are set to go toe-to-toe on the surface for the first time, with a place in the third round up for grabs.
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