The good news, Novak Djokovic said, was that his surgically repaired right knee was pain-free at Wimbledon.
The bad news, he knows, is that his movement, such a big part of his success, was not yet back to normal during a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 victory on Thursday in the second round over Jacob Fearnley, a 22-year-old from Scotland who played college tennis in the US — and that’ll need to improve if Djokovic is going to contend for the title, the only reason he is back competing so soon after tearing his meniscus.
When Fearnley, a wild-card entry ranked just 277th and participating in his first major tournament, grabbed the third set, a roar arose at Centre Court. “I noticed they were probably more towards me in the crowd,” Fearnley said. “That was pretty obvious.”
After the match, Djokovic said: “The more matches I have, the better the chance I’ll have to feel more comfortable moving around and gain that speed, agility, change of direction — that freedom that I’m looking for, really. I had it in certain moments today, certain moments in the first match, but then it’s still not there.”
Djokovic has won seven of his 24 grand slam trophies at the All England Club. “In a way, it’s expected and normal when you come back from surgery. The body’s trying to understand what’s going on.
“I do watch specific moments where I thought I’ve done well or moments where I haven’t done so well, and just try to analyze that myself. Then, of course, with my team members,” Djokovic said. “Draw some conclusions, take it to the practice court and work on it.”