Novak Djokovic arrived on Centre Court for his opening match at Wimbledon 2026 in style as he wore a custom Lacoste white blazer to go with his white shorts and socks.
The tennis great received a standing ovation when he strutted onto the hallowed turf and once he took the jacket – which had his initials ND on the badge – off, there was a short message written in black on the insid and it translates to: “A hero is not the one who beats, but the one who endures injustice and forgives.”
It is a quote with a deeper meaning as the 24-time Grand Slam winner explained to Serbian journalists after his win over Wu Yibing: “I was thinking about what message would inspire me. There are a lot of them. I wanted something about Serbian history and culture because it means a lot to me.
“On the other hand, I wanted to have a connection to the place where we are currently and with my history here.”
“There you go – you’ll draw your own conclusions.”
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And on Tuesday, he took to social media to express his delight at reaching the second round as he drew on some “wolf energy”, writing: “Full moon in the sky. Wolf energy on the court. Woooooooo to round 2.”
Djokovic did require a bit of inspiration during his clash against Yibing as he had to dig deep, as he required four sets to book his place in the second round at the grass-court Grand Slam where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.
After his 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, the seven-time Wimbledon champion admitted he was “on the ropes” during the fourth set.
Challenging in terms of the level of performance and the tennis of Wu Yibing,” he said. “I never faced him before. I did my analysis. I looked at some of the matches he played prior to Wimbledon. I think he just won one match, lost very early also in challengers, other tournaments that he played as a lead-up.
“I mean, I started well, and I liked my chances to maybe win in straights. He just took the tennis to a different level that was really impressive.
“I mean, serving, returning like incredibly deep and strong and fast shots that he played from both ends of the court and from the baseline, backhand and forehand. At one point there was no weakness really.
“Of course, I dropped my level, but that’s also due to his consistency and just great, great attacking, aggressive tennis. I was really hanging on the ropes in the fourth.
“I mean, I probably should have lost that set to be honest with the opportunities he had. I guess I managed to find the right serve at the right time. I was lucky he missed the overhead in the fourth. The match was toe-to-toe honestly. One or two shots, one or two points decided the winner.
“I’m glad I managed to fight and stay focused till the end. It’s one of these matches that we have to dig deep.”
