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via Reuters

via Reuters

Novak Djokovic is up and running at the Wimbledon Championships 2022. The defending champion overcame the challenge of Soon-woo Kwon in the opening round to begin his title defense on a positive note. However, the Serb had to encounter some tough moments en route to his first-round victory.

The year 2022 has seen many records tumbling. Earlier this season, Rafael Nadal became the first man to clinch 21 Grand Slam singles titles with his Australian Open victory. After his first-round win at Wimbledon, Djokovic has created another unique record.

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Novak Djokovic adds another record to his name

Yesterday, the former World Number 1 became the first player to record 80 singles wins at all four Grand Slam events. Djokovic has 82 wins at the Australian Open, the tournament where he has found immense success, winning 9 major titles Down Under. Further, he has 85 and 81 wins at the French Open and the US Open, respectively. With his victory over Soon-woo Kwon yesterday, the 20-time Grand Slam champion recorded 80 victories at Wimbledon.

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Djokovic, who is looking to break his rival, Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam winning streak, didn’t have an ideal start to the match. His Korean opponent broke his serve in the third game of the opening set. However, Djokovic came back strongly to level the set 3-3. The Serb maintained the momentum as he won the next three games to take the first set 6-3.

USA Today via Reuters

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Djokovic’s consistency takes him through to the next round

The second set started on a similar note to the first. Soon-woo Kwon took a 3-1 lead in the second set, breaking Djokovic’s serve in the fourth game. However, this time around, the Korean didn’t let Djokovic make a comeback as he held his service games to win the set 6-3. The subsequent sets were one-way traffic as Djokovic went on to win the match in four sets.

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via Reuters

In the second round, the Serb will take on Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Australian can turn out to be a tricky opponent for Djokovic. The former had won the Australian Open doubles title with Nick Kyrgios earlier in the year. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top in this interesting battle.