Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after beating Alexandre Muller of France in their men's singles first round match at the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, July 1, 2025. /VCG

Novak Djokovic thanked "doctors' miracle pills" for helping him overcome feelings of discomfort, and the loss of a set, to launch his latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title in the first round at Wimbledon.

The Serbian veteran, a seven-time winner at the All England Club, beat France's World No. 41 Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-2 in a late night match on Centre Court.

Djokovic dominated the first set, breaking three times, but Muller levelled the match after taking the second set 9-7 in a tiebreaker. The sixth seed righted the ship in the third set, before a couple of breaks in the fourth set helped him seal the deal.

"I enjoyed myself, obviously a bit less in the second set, but I went from feeling my absolute best for a set-and-a-half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes," he said. "Whether it was a stomach bug, I don't know what it is. I struggled with that, but the energy came back after some doctors' miracle pills, and I managed to finish the match on a good note."

The 38-year-old Djokovic has reached every Wimbledon final since 2018, but knows time is running out, with Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Italy's Jannik Sinner working hard to establish a stranglehold at the top of men's tennis.

Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a shot against Italy's Luca Nardi in their men's singles first round match at the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, July 1, 2025. /VCG

Top-ranked Sinner got his Wimbledon campaign off to an ideal start after sweeping past Luca Nardi 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 in an all-Italian opener.

The three-time Grand Slam champion, who lost a five-set French Open final to Alcaraz in early June, is seeking a first title at the All England Club. He was a semifinalist in London in 2023.

"First matches are never easy, so I'm very happy about my performance," the 23-year-old said in an on-court interview. "It's a new tournament, new chances, new challenges. You have one opponent at a time."

Third-seeded Alexander Zverev lost to 72nd-ranked Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 in the first round, in a match that was suspended overnight.

The defeat marked the German's earliest exit at a Grand Slam since 2019. Rinderknech, a 29-year-old Frenchman, had only earned one other career victory at Wimbledon, with that win coming last year.

In the build-up to the tournament, Rinderknech reached the quarterfinals at the Queen's Club, where he beat American competitors Ben Shelton and Reilly Opelka.

Zverev has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon three times, including last year, but has yet to go further. He lost to the USA's Taylor Fritz in five sets last summer.

Source: CGTN