Djokovic pleased by strong Wimbledon start

Novak Djokovic has opened his bid for a third straight Wimbledon title and a fifth successive Grand Slam with a straight-sets win over Britain’s James Ward.

In keeping with tradition, Djokovic played the first match on Centre Court as the men’s defending champion, and he came through 6-0 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in just over two hours to extend his Grand Slam winning streak to 29 matches.

“This is probably the most unique experience in tennis playing as the defending champion in Wimbledon – untouched grass, first match, 1 o’clock Monday,” Djokovic said.

“It’s really special to feel this tradition and history, to come back to the cradle of our sport. It was a wonderful experience.”

Djokovic holds all four Grand Slam titles.

Having won the Australian Open and French Open, he’s also seeking to become the first man to capture the first three legs of a calendar-year Grand Slam since Australia’s Rod Laver swept all four majors in 1969.

Djokovic looked right back at home at the All England club as he ran off the first nine games against Ward, ranked 177th in the world and granted a wild-card entry into the grass-court Grand Slam.

“Not much to say about my game, it was really flawless, I felt great,” Djokovic said.

When Ward finally won a game, hitting a service winner to make it 3-1 in the second set, the Briton threw up his arm in mock triumph and basked in a loud ovation from the home crowd.

Ward broke in the next game and the two players went to a tiebreaker, which Djokovic dominated to reassert control.

“Nerves kicked in for James, obviously, but he started playing better, second part of the second set and it was very close,” Djokovic said. ‘It wasn’t easy to break his serve.”

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