Djokovic defeats Muller despite struggling with ‘stomach bug’

The Serb battled through a medical issue to secure a spot in the second round in Wimbledon in his pursuit to equal Federer’s tournament record

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – Jul 1, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his first round match against France's Alexandre Muller REUTERS/Toby Melville

Novak Djokovic has defeated unranked Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2 in a match that made the seven-time Wimbledon Champion go from his “absolute best” to his “absolute worst”.

Djokovic, in pursuit of equalling Roger Federer’s record at the prestigious tournament at the All England Club, will take on British wild card Dan Evans in the next round on Tuesday.

Djokovic said, “I think I always have a chance, I've earned my right to feel I can go all the way to the title. I've had arguably the most success of any Grand Slam here in the last decade.”

He added, “It's just the beginning of the tournament. There are many fantastic players in the draw. I'm going to be playing a Briton in the next round. That's going to be a tough one, but I look forward to it.”

After a poor year, Djokovic powered through the opening set against Muller by winning six games back to back.

In the next set, Muller put up a fight by saving five breakpoints to hold for 4-4 before forcing a tiebreak, where he raised his game again to battle from 2-5 down and draw level in the match.

Djokovic secured the third set despite struggling with a “stomach bug". He got some help from Muller who hit his sixth double fault of the match, giving the set to the Serb.

In the final set of the match, Djokovic got a 4-2 advantage with an exquisite backhand winner from where he eased to victory.

Reflecting on the match, Djokovic said, “I went from feeling my absolute best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes”.