Tennis great Kim Clijsters says Novak Djokovic will be feeling “added pressure” to shore up his legacy at Wimbledon because of his hardline anti-vaccination stance.
The world No.1 will play Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round after beating Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4.
As it stands, Wimbledon will be Djokovic’s last Grand Slam of 2022 given he cannot enter the United States as an unvaccinated foreigner.
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Rafael Nadal has skipped ahead on the all-time list with 22 Grand Slam titles, with six-time Wimbledon winner Djokovic two back with Roger Federer on 20.
“I think it adds a little bit of added pressure to really perform in the moments that he’s playing out there,” four-time Grand Slam champion Clijsters told Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily.
“We know that Novak under pressure can bring out some of his best tennis. He had maybe not his best match today but good enough to get through and get that first match under his belt.
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“He hasn’t played any matches on grass yet so he was able to… kind of raise his level and bring it to the level that he needs to be, to slowly get better throughout the tournament and see if he can close the gap on Rafa.
“He stayed very calm out there, just stayed composed and pushed himself through.
“That’s what these great players can do, even though they aren’t playing the way that they would like to play, they still stay calm and elevate their game when they have to.
“That only promises good things for his future in the tournament.”
Kokkinakis, meanwhile, won his first ever singles match at Wimbledon, taking down Poland’s world No.91 Kamil Majchrzak 7-6(5) 6-2 7-5.
The South Australian said he could not wait to test himself against Djokovic.
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“Definitely was in the back of my mind playing that match. I obviously saw the draw.
“I’m not one of those people that doesn’t look ahead. I knew I had a tough match obviously first, but definitely knew what was at stake.”
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