“It's never easy”: Novak Djokovic ready to face ‘great competitor’ Dan Evans in Wimbledon second-round

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has stated that he is ready for a ‘good test’ when he will face Britain’s Dan Evans in the second round of Wimbledon 2025. Djokovic cemented his spot in the round of 64 after beating France’s Alexandre Muller with a score of 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2.

His second-round opponent, Evans, secured his spot in the next round after beating fellow countryman Jay Clarke in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-5, 6-2. Talking after the match, Djokovic admitted that it would be a tough contest against a local player, but believes the match will be a ‘good one’ for him.

"He's a super talented player and a great competitor," said Djokovic about his next round opponent Evans. "Always backs himself up on the court, believes in himself. Playing obviously against a Brit in Britain, it's never easy. I have to be ready for a great battle. I haven't played him in a long time. He uses his slice quite a lot. I think that favours grass courts because the ball stays low. He can serve and volley. He chips the ball, comes in, mixes up the pace. He's really a tricky opponent to play against. You don't want to have him in your draw really in the early rounds. It's a good test. 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 justice at the moment. He deserves to be ranked higher."

Djokovic also spoke about how he was dealing with a bad stomach during his first-round win, which was the reason for his energy to drop. He stated that while feeling unwell, his focus was on staying on the court to give himself the best possible chance to recover.

"I had issues with the stomach. My energy completely dropped,” he said. “I was just trying to survive on the court for quite some time. Then after a while the energy came back, and I could go back playing from the baseline the way I played in the first set. Credit to Alex obviously for winning the second set and playing solid. But I think that I should be happy with a performance once I was feeling good on the court, serving very well. That's one of the probably things that I will take away today as highlights of the game."