Novak’s back! Seven-time champion Djokovic wins first match since knee surgery at Wimbledon

Never mind the grey sleeve that covered Novak Djokovic’s surgically repaired right knee. Never mind the fact that his surgery to repair a torn right meniscus was less than a month ago, on June 5.

On Tuesday on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, the Grand Slam king showed off his recuperative powers as he waltzed past Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva, 6-1, 6-2 6-2.

How did he feel?

“Very good,” he said with a satisfied smile after his seemingly effortless victory.

How did he look, and how did the knee hold up under all the rigors of Grand Slam play?

“His movement is unbelievable,” said Nick Kyrgios, who commentated the match for ESPN.

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Done and dusted in under two hours

Djokovic needed just under two hours to log his 93rd career Wimbledon win, as he dominated all three sets, never faced a break point and hit double as many winners (32) as he did unforced errors (16).

He was sublime in the forecourt, winning 17 of 21 net points and routinely knocking off volley winners that showed off his grass court acumen, and lethal on return, breaking 27-year-old Kopriva’s serve six times from 15 opportunities and winning more than half of his return points (52 percent for the match).

“I’m very pleased with the way I felt on the court,” Djokovic told the crowd. “Obviously coming into Wimbledon this year it was a little bit of a different circumstance for me because of the knee.”

Djokovic improves to 93-11 lifetime and will face British wild card Jacob Fearnley (world No 277) in the second round as he ramps up his bid for a record eighth Wimbledon and 25th major title.

“I didn’t know how everything was going to unfold on the court, really, practise sessions are quite different than official match play so I’m just extremely glad about the way I felt today and the way I played.”

First slide of the grass court season brings relief

Djokovic told reporters that he as cautious and unwilling to push himself to the extremes against Kopriva. Instead, he says, he did just enough to get through the match without any complications.

As he generally felt more comfortable he started to expand his range of physicality a bit, which led him to a confidence-building moment.

“I played I think just enough to win confidently in straight sets,” he said. “I felt like as the match progressed, I moved better. Those couple points I think when I broke him in the second set, I did one slide. That was the first slide of the grass court season for me. I haven’t done it even in a practice week. So that was a great test.

“After that, I felt happy that I did it because in a way you also feel mentally hesitant to do those extreme movements. But knowing that I can do it is, obviously, very comforting and very positive.”

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