Novak Djokovic looks at the grass at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic, bent over with towel in hand, delighted the crowd on Center Court during a rain break at Wimbledon on Monday when he mopped some moisture from the grass. It seemed appropriate for someone who has been doing the same general thing with his opponents for the past five years at this tournament.

Djokovic has not lost a match at Wimbledon since 2017 and with a win over Argentina’s Pedro Cachin in their first round on Monday, he extended his record from the last five Wimbledon tournaments to 29-0. He has won the last four men’s singles titles, and one more this year would see himself eclipse even more names in the record book.

If Djokovic can claim a fifth consecutive title at the All England Club, he will have taken home the first three major trophies of 2023 and his chances of winning the first men’s Grand Slam (all four majors in the same year) have increased since Rod Laver did. he would also become only the third man to do it, joining Laver (1962 and 1969) and Don Budge in 1938. Three women have accomplished the feat: Maureen Connolly in 1953, Margaret Court in 1970, and Steffi Graf in 1988.

Djokovic would also tie Roger Federer for most Wimbledon men’s singles titles with eight and Bjorn Borg for most consecutive titles with five. Finally, he would tie Court’s record of 24 major titles, and would be the only player to do it completely in the Open era. (Court won 13 majors before 1968, at a time when professionals were not allowed to play in the majors.)

On Monday, Djokovic, the No. 2 seed but overwhelming title favourite, walked onto Center Court and took in a moment few have experienced.

“It’s a feeling like no other tournament in the world, to walk on Center Court at Wimbledon like a defending champion, on the fresh grass,” he said. “It’s great, great to be back in a dream tournament and get the first game out of the way.”

Wimbledon was the first tennis tournament Djokovic watched on television while growing up in Serbia, and it has held a spell on him ever since. And while that’s true for thousands of players, few have enjoyed it as much as Djokovic, who takes in blades of grass as soon as he wins his titles (as opposed to when he wins on the red clay of Roland Garros).

Winning on grass, especially at a time when there are so few surface tournaments and the season is so short, is extremely challenging and Djokovic rarely plays the warm-up tournaments anymore. There are many tactical aspects that distinguish grass from clay and hard courts, even as the surface at Wimbledon is much more resilient and fast than it once was.

For Djokovic, who likes to slide across hard courts and clay as he reaches his balls wide and for the net, the grass at Wimbledon doesn’t allow for the same kind of horizontal movement. But Djokovic has become as adept as anyone at adapting from clay to grass in a short amount of time.

“I had to learn how to move,” he said, “how to walk, how to play, how to read the bounces, etc.”

But the grass was actually too slippery for a while on Monday after light rain fell towards the end of the first set of Djokovic’s 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Cachin. It was Djokovic’s toughest obstacle of the day.

The race was halted, the tarpaulin spread across the track and the roof rolled shut. Normally the runways are dry in less than half an hour. But the moisture mysteriously continued on Monday, and tournament officials and the players returned to a still slippery track.

In total, the delay lasted nearly 90 minutes, a surprising length for a runway with a roof. But Djokovic endeared himself to the disappointed spectators by using his towel and joking with them, as if he could clean it all up himself. Given his success on that grass pitch – he hasn’t lost on Center Court since 2013 – some might have expected him to do it.

Some wondered if his good mood was an indication that Djokovic, with a men’s singles record 23rd major title secured, was now in a more relaxed and jovial mood.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a pretty unique feeling for me just because I won my 23rd Slam,” he said. “I’ve always tried to have fun in certain circumstances where, I think, you can’t control things. I’ve had some funny rain delays in Paris and also in New York where I joked.

He acknowledged that he was physically and emotionally exhausted after winning the French Open in June. So he and his wife, Jelena, went to the Portuguese Azores walking and relaxing. They were even forced to spend an extra day there as fog grounded their original flight home.

“It was great because I went through a lot of different emotions during the clay-court season,” he said, “especially obviously reaching the climax in Paris, and I had to get away from it all, get a little bit isolated.”

A player Djokovic will not face this year is Nick Kyrgios, his opponent in last year’s Wimbledon final. Kyrgios, who was recovering from surgery on his left knee in January, pulled out of the tournament on the eve of day one after a scan revealed a torn ligament in his wrist.

“I think people just forget how strenuous this sport is, how physical it is,” Kyrgios said on Sunday, before announcing his wrist injury. “I challenge anyone to play with Novak for four hours and see how you feel afterwards.”

Since Djokovic’s current run started in 2018, they have all been wiped out.