Defending champion Novak Djokovic was broken in his first service game of The Championships against German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber. But the Serbian was not deterred, maintaining his undefeated record in the first round at Wimbledon (15-0).

Djokovic, a four-time champion at this major, beat Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to move into the second round on the London grass. The World No. 1 struck 36 winners to just 19 unforced errors, advancing after two hours and two minutes in his first match with 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic on his team, alongside Marian Vajda.

Kohlschreiber was a tricky first-round opponent for Djokovic, as the 35-year-old defeated the top seed at the BNP Paribas Open earlier this year, and also pushed him to three sets at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. But Djokovic was locked in from the baseline in a match that featured creative rallies moreso than power, extending his FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against the World No. 57 to 11-2.

Djokovic did not play a grass-court tournament before arriving at The Championships this year. But that was not a stunner for the Serbian, who did not compete on the surface before Wimbledon ahead of three of his runs to the title here. The 32-year-old’s last event was Roland Garros, where he lost in the semi-finals against two-time finalist Dominic Thiem.

The top seed is in a far different position at the All England Club this season compared to last year. Then, Djokovic was World No. 21, struggling to recover from a right elbow injury. But the Serbian found his best tennis to claim his fourth Wimbledon title.

Djokovic will next face Denis Kudla, who defeated Tunisian Malek Jaziri 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. It will be their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

Grass has been Kudla’s best surface, as the American has now won 52.5 per cent of his matches on it. In 2015, he made the fourth round at Wimbledon. But Kudla owns an 0-9 record against opponents placed inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings.

Also in Djokovic’s section, Argentine Leonardo Mayer beat former Top 10 player Ernests Gulbis 6-1, 7-6(12), 6-2 in two hours and 17 minutes. Mayer, who advanced to the fourth round at SW19 in 2014, converted on five of the 17 break points he earned against the Latvian.

Did You Know?
Djokovic has not lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since he was 18. Paul Goldstein beat him in the opening round of the 2006 Australian Open.

No. 31 (Career-High) Taylor Fritz, +11
More than three years after reaching his first ATP Tour final at 2016 Memphis, Taylor Fritz lifted his maiden tour-level trophy at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne. The 21-year-old American defeated top seed Guido Pella and British No. 1 Kyle Edmund en route to the championship match, where he overcame countryman Sam Querrey in straight sets. The 6’4″ Californian climbs 11 spots to a career-high No. 31 in the ATP Rankings. Read More

No. 46 (Career-High) Lorenzo Sonego, +29
The 24-year-old entered the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya without a victory on grass, riding a six-match tour-level losing streak that dated back to his last-eight run at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April. But Sonego defeated three seeded players to reach his first ATP Tour final, and saved championship point against Miomir Kecmanovic, before claiming his first ATP Tour crown. The Italian soars 29 positions to a career-high No. 46 in the ATP Rankings. Read More

No. 67 (Career-High) Miomir Kecmanovic, +15
The Serbian reached his first tour-level final in Antalya and found himself just one point away from the title against Sonego. Kecmanovic dropped serve once in 48 service games to reach the final, overcoming third seed Jordan Thompson in the last four in a final-set tie-break The 19-year-old rises 15 positions to a career-high No. 67 in the ATP Rankings.

Other Notable Movers
No. 50 Pablo Carreno Busta, +9
No. 58 Mikhail Kukushkin, -11
No. 65 Sam Querrey, +14
No. 83 Hugo Dellien, +10
No. 89 Thomas Fabbiano, +13
No. 91 Damir Dzumhur, -28

History is on the side of the Big Three — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — entering Wimbledon, as the legendary trio has combined to claim 14 of the past 16 titles at The Championships.

And although some may look to Grand Slam champions Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic, 2018 finalist Kevin Anderson or recent Roland Garros runner-up Dominic Thiem to spring a surprise on the grass, former World No. 1 Mats Wilander has other ideas. His sights are set on current or recent #NextGenATP players.

“I think the surprise is the group of young players that has started to present themselves. Stefanos Tsitsipas made the semi-finals of the Australian Open. There is Denis Shapovalov, there is Felix Auger-Aliassime, there is Daniil Medvedev, there is Karen Khachanov,” Wilander said. “There are so many young players and I feel like Wimbledon is where they need to present themselves and I believe that one of the 19, 20, 21-year-old guys is going to do it this year.”

Each of those five players Wilander named either has competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals or is currently a #NextGenATP star. They range in age from 18 (Auger-Aliassime) to 23 (Khachanov and Medvedev). But they all have enjoyed impressive ascents up the ATP Rankings over the past two years.

Entering the first week of Wimbledon in 2017, none of those five players were placed inside the Top 30 of the ATP Rankings. This year, they all are. Of the group, Tsitsipas has advanced furthest at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals at this year’s Australian Open. They all have made at least the semi-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, with Khachanov triumphing at last year’s Rolex Paris Masters.

No player who has competed at the 21-and-under season finale in Milan or is currently a #NextGenATP competitor has won a Grand Slam title. If one does at SW19, they will become the 150th men’s singles major winner in history.

Wilander’s fellow Swede, Jonas Bjorkman, with whom he won this week’s ATP Champions Tour event — the Svaneholm Open — thinks that a member of the Big Three will reign again at the All England Club.

“It’s going to be a boring answer,” said Bjorkman, the former World No. 4 who climbed to No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings. “I’m going to go with Novak Djokovic, putting him and Roger Federer as favourites with maybe Rafael Nadal just underneath.”

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray is set to return to Grand Slam action at Wimbledon. And it’s more than just his fans who are happy to see the two-time singles winner at The Championships back on the hallowed grass, albeit on the doubles court.

“Everybody should be happy to see him back,” said two-time champion Rafael Nadal, the third seed. “He is one of the most important players of our sport in the past 10 years. It’s good news when we have the top players back. Most important thing, [I am] happy for him personally that he’s able to keep playing.”

Murray made his return at the Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club, where he triumphed alongside Feliciano Lopez. Murray then partnered Marcelo Melo at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne, where they fell to eventual champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

And although Murray has made clear that he is alright if it doesn’t happen, the 32-year-old said that if he continues to progress, he wants to try to play singles again. It’s only been five months since Murray underwent hip surgery.

“Hopefully he will have the chance to keep playing in singles. But anyway, he’s able to enjoy tennis again without much pain, as I heard. That’s the main thing and the most important thing,” Nadal said. “I know how tough it is being injured, when you want to recover and you don’t find the solution… [I am] happy to see him on court again and enjoying [it].”

Nadal, who holds a 17-7 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against Murray, faced the Scot three times at Wimbledon (2008, ‘10, ‘11), winning on all three occasions. Although they won’t get to play this year, since Murray is only competing in doubles, Nadal couldn’t help but take a look at the two-time champion preparing for the grass-court Grand Slam next to him on the practice courts.

“He looks very happy practising,” Nadal said. “So happy for that.”

Murray and his partner, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, open their tournament against Marius Copil and Ugo Humbert. They could play No. 6 seeds Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor in the second round, and Andy’s brother Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski in the third round. But Murray is not thinking ahead, and he has not put more pressure on himself because of the early success in his comeback.

“I’m just happy to be playing tennis again really. I would like to do well when I get on the court. I play to win. I’m really competitive,” Murray said. “But… I didn’t know four or five weeks ago if I’d even be playing on the grass. Shouldn’t be expecting too much. But once I step on the court, I’ll be out there trying to win every match I play.”