Tennis365 watched from courtside at the Hurlingham Club as Novak Djokovic made his return to action to play his first match since Roland Garros.
Djokovic defeated world No 24 Tommy Paul 6-3, 6-7(6) 7-5 in a high-level exhibition match at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic in London on Friday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had not competed since his epic five-set French Open defeat to Joao Fonseca on 29 May.
With an extreme heat warning in place, temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius in London on Friday for what was Djokovic’s only grass-court contest Wimbledon.
Djokovic was initially due to play Karen Khachanov in Hurlingham on Wednesday, but he was removed from the schedule just hours before the match was due to start, with Martin Damm taking his place.
No reason was given for Djokovic not appearing, which sparked speculation about his physical condition, but his presence at the event was confirmed for the Friday schedule. Djokovic also played on the Friday at Hurlingham last year.
As Jannik Sinner noted after his match at the event on Wednesday, the pristine grass at Hurlingham plays faster than the courts at Wimbledon, which places a premium on quality serving and landing the first strike.
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What happened in the match?
Paul mostly held serve comfortably, but Djokovic converted the only opportunity he had to break the American in the match.
With Paul serving at 2-3 in the first set, Djokovic won a mesmerising baseline exchange — the best point of the match — at deuce, before delivering some clean and precise hitting to win the break point.
Djokovic, meanwhile, played several tight service games in the first set and the early part of the second set, but he saved all five of the break points he faced.
The 39-year-old fought off two of the break points with big second serves (114 and 112 mph), while he saved another after turning the point around with a brilliant defensive lob.
Paul saved a match point at 5-6 in the second set tiebreak before forcing a seven-point match tiebreak — which was played instead of a third set.
Djokovic reacted by playing a strong match tiebreak and closed out the win on his fourth match point with a short forehand winner set up by a big first serve.
What it means for Djokovic
With the usual caveat that few clear conclusions can be drawn from exhibition matches, the one-hour-and-39-minute contest was a good test for Djokovic against a quality grass-court player in hot weather.
Djokovic passed the test with a positive showing ahead of his bid for an eighth Wimbledon title next week. His serve, which will be key at the All England Club, was particularly strong.
The tennis icon is chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, which would see him become the oldest major singles champion in tennis history.
He will face 99th-ranked Wu Yibing in his opening match at Wimbledon, and he is in the same half of the draw as Sinner — who is the world No 1 and reigning champion.
Djokovic did not speak at Hurlingham, so we will have to wait until his pre-tournament press conference at Wimbledon to hear his thoughts.
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