Novak Djokovic prepares to face British wildcard Dan Evans in the second round of Wimbledon as he pursues a historic 25th Grand Slam title. Meanwhile, defending women’s champion Barbora Krejcikova aims to extend her strong record on the grass courts of the All England Club.
The tournament has already seen a flurry of surprises, with eight top-10 seeds across men’s and women’s singles knocked out in the opening round—the highest number of early exits at a Grand Slam in the Open era.
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, runner-up at last year’s Wimbledon, was eliminated on Wednesday, leaving only world number one Aryna Sabalenka among the top five women’s seeds still in the competition.
Djokovic faces a challenging opponent in Evans, who holds the advantage in their only previous meeting: a clay-court victory in Monte Carlo in 2021. The Serbian seven-time Wimbledon champion, who has been runner-up in the last two finals here, overcame stomach issues during his four-set opening win over Alexandre Muller, crediting “miracle pills” for his recovery.
Despite being ranked 154th, Evans’ experience on grass and the backing of the home crowd make him a formidable adversary. Djokovic acknowledged: “It’s a good test for both of us. I think he’s been picking his form up, as well. I think his rankings are not doing him justice at the moment. He deserves to be ranked higher. He’s one of the guys that you don’t want to face on grass.”
Evans, 35, is determined to seize the opportunity. “He’s done pretty much everything in the game,” he said. “But it’s also my chance to win the match. I have to be competitive.”
In the women’s draw, Krejcikova recovered from a shaky start to defeat Alexandra Eala in three sets. The Czech, seeded 17th, now meets American Caroline Dolehide, whom she has beaten once before on clay in 2019. Despite battling injuries this year and having played just six matches, Krejcikova said returning to Wimbledon was “a very beautiful and just very joyful experience.” She added, “It’s just great to be back, playing in the temple of tennis. It’s a very special place.”
British hopes rest on 23-year-old Jack Draper, who is seen as the new torchbearer for home tennis after Andy Murray’s retirement. The fourth seed faces former finalist Marin Cilic in the second round and is embracing his growing role with confidence. “I kind of play every match like my life depends on it anyway,” Draper said.
Other notable second-round matches include world number one Jannik Sinner against Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic, and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek taking on American Caty McNally.
