An extraordinary Djokovic hit another marathon to reach the second round of Wimbledon

First and foremost: Novak Djokovic He is in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. As usual. The seven-time champion qualified for the fourth round of the tournament for the nineteenth time, his 75th at a Grand Slam. In this sense, life remains the same for the Serbian, 37 years old and world No. 2.

Although he seems to have gone through something strange in this edition. It started to get weird since he arrived at the All England Club to train three weeks after surgery for a meniscal tear in his right knee. It was almost a miracle when the decision to go quickly to the operating room in Paris, on the day he would have played in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros if he had not been injured, was its main purpose to save the Olympic Games.

But ‘Nole’ has always had a different relationship with physical barriers. In difficult conditions he managed to become a champion. And with that positive background, the belief that the knee will stop and his tennis will respond to his garden, he is at Wimbledon to bid for an eighth crown equal to his. Roger Federer.

He served another lime, in the first set, and another sand, since then, when the middle roof was closed due to rain. With ups and downs, but steadfast in his convictions, he defeated a dangerous opponent due to his excellent service, the Australian. Alexei Popyrin4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 (3).

Overcome again three hour meeting, in four minutes. There was a pause when the center roared when it was learned that England had knocked Switzerland out of the European Championship on penalties. Djokovic pretended to throw one for the minute it took for the British to express their joy and calm down.

On Monday, an important test for Djokovic, round of 16 with the young Dane Holger Rune. He won 95 matches at Wimbledon, equivalent Billie Jean King in fifth position of the event. leading Martina Navratilova (120)followed by Roger Federer (105).