Novak Djokovic's first-round match at Wimbledon lasted all of 40 minutes on Tuesday. Roger Federer's, which was next in the All England Club's main stadium, went on for 43.
The short workdays for the two were quite similar. Djokovic led 6-3, 2-0 when Martin Klizan retired with a left leg problem that has bothered him for about two months; Federer was ahead 6-3, 3-0 when Alexandr Dolgopolov quit because of a painful right ankle he first twisted last month.
Those still go into the books as wins, allowing Federer to collect his 85th at Wimbledon, breaking a tie with Jimmy Connors for the most in the Open era. Djokovic picked up his 234th match victory at all majors, moving ahead of Connors and alone into second place in history, behind only Federer's 315
When two of tennis’ biggest stars crossed paths after both advanced to the next round, they kidded each other about a way to try to make it up to the fans.
We had a little joke about it in the locker room, saying we should maybe play a practice set on the Centre Court, have the crowd stay.Novak Djokovic after the match
Federer, on the other hand, remarked:
“I feel for the crowd. They’re there to watch good tennis. Proper tennis. At least they see the two of us, who gave it all they had. They saw other players that tried, at least. It’s unfortunate that it happenedRoger Federer
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