Novak Djokovic overcame the loss of a set to comfortably advance to the second round at Wimbledon, beginning his mission for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

The veteran Serbian, a seven-time champion at the London tournament, defeated French world No. 41 Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2, 6-2.

Djokovic dominated the opening set on Centre Court with three breaks of serve, but Muller leveled the match by edging the second-set tiebreak. The sixth-seeded Serb regained control in the third set, and two breaks in the fourth sealed a convincing victory.

Djokovic has been tied with tennis legend Margaret Court at 24 Grand Slam titles since 2023 and believes his best chance for a historic 25th lies on the grass of the All England Club.

After losing the past two Wimbledon finals to Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic has extra motivation — the opportunity to match retired Roger Federer's men's record of eight titles at this tournament.

He has reached every Wimbledon final since 2018, but at 38, he knows time is not on his side, especially as Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner continue to assert dominance at the top of the men's game. |BGNES