LONDON — The good news, Novak Djokovic said, was that he felt no pain in surgically repaired right knee on Thursday at Wimbledon.
The bad news, he knows, is that his movement, such a big part of his success on the court, was not yet back to normal during a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 victory in the second round over Jacob Fearnley, a 22-year-old from Scotland who played college tennis in the United States.
That aspect of the second-seeded Djokovic’s game will need to improve if he is going to contend for the title at the grass-court major tournament, the only reason he is back competing so soon after tearing his meniscus last month during the French Open.
“The more matches I have, the better the chance I’ll have to feel more comfortable moving around and gain that speed, agility, change of direction — that freedom that I’m looking for, really. I had it in certain moments today, certain moments in the first match, but then it’s still not there,” said Djokovic, who has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam trophies at the All England Club. “In a way, it’s expected and normal when you come back from surgery. The body’s trying to understand what’s going on.”
When Fearnley, a wild-card entry who is No. 277 in the ATP Tour rankings and participating in his first major, took the third set, a roar arose at Centre Court.