Novak Djokovic feels “liberated” by the reduced expectations surrounding his Wimbledon prospects. The Serb won his first match at Eastbourne on Wednesday, defeating Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 25 minutes.
Inconsistent form over the past 12 months has resulted in Djokovic losing his grip on all four of the sport’s majors and the appointment of Andre Agassi as his coach, as well as a change from his pre-Wimbledon routine.
Djokovic’s presence for the first time at Eastbourne represents his first participation in an official grass-court competition between the French Open and Wimbledon since 2010. It appears an attempt by the three-times Wimbledon champion to strengthen his Wimbledon chances a year after he failed to retain his All England Club title.
“It is liberating a bit,” he said. “I was very fortunate and privileged to have so much success in the last eight, nine years, and kind of entered most of the tournaments as one of the biggest favourites. So for a change it’s good to not be one of the top favourites. It releases a bit of the pressure. It’s always there. You still feel it. It’s part of what I do. And what I have achieved so far has added to those expectations.
“I try to lower those expectations myself, because I really want to as much as I can, in this stage of my life and career, be in the moment and trying to focus only on what comes up next, which doesn’t mean that I don’t want to win the trophies.”
Djokovic, ranked fourth in the world, was seeded No2 on Wednesday for Wimbledon. “I want to thank Wimbledon for getting me two spots ahead than I’m actually ranked. It’s probably due to also the good results I have had in the last three, four years in Wimbledon.
“Whether it helps or not, I can’t say at the moment. It doesn’t make too much of a difference other than I’m not going to potentially meet Andy [Murray] in semis rather than finals, but it’s too far away. As I said, I don’t see myself as one of the top few favourites.”
The British No1, Johanna Konta, strolled past Romania’s world No62 Sorana Cirstea in the second round at Eastbourne, winning 6-2, 6-2, and faces the French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Centre Court on Thursday.
Marcus Willis is one match away from a return to Wimbledon after winning the all‑British qualifying showdown with Liam Broady. The 26-year-old, who memorably faced Roger Federer on Centre Court last year, won 7-6 (2), 6-7 (2), 6-2 at Roehampton in their rain-delayed clash.
Laura Robson will go into Wimbledon with only one win on grass behind her after losing against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of the Southsea Trophy.
Rain stopped play on Tuesday after the Russian Alexandrova had taken the first set and they were forced to resume indoors on Wednesday. Robson hit back well to level the match but it was Alexandrova who prevailed in the decider, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
The former British No1 continues to make very slow progress after the wrist problems that kept her away from the tour for the better part of two years, with her ranking down at 188.
Robson has been given a Wimbledon wild-card entry but has shown little form on the grass, winning her only match last week in Ilkley against another Russian, Anna Blinkova.
Davis Cup and Fed Cup to be rebranded as World Cup of Tennis
The rebranding of the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup finals as a combined World Cup of Tennis in Geneva from November next year is a gamble born of necessity and will either recapture the magic of the struggling competitions or pitch them back into confusion.
The International Tennis Federation president, David Haggerty, knew on taking up office in September 2015 that his over-riding challenge was to persuade leading players they can fit in their commitment around an already hectic schedule on the regular Tour. It could be more than symbolic that he and his committee have settled on Roger Federer’s homeland as the first venue for the daring experiment.
Much the same applies to the Women’s Tennis Association, although the best players seem more willing to take part in the Fed Cup.
Both competitions have a complicated structure that is difficult for all but the most dedicated fans to follow. Matches have to be squeezed in around the four grand slams as well as the other major tournaments that run from January to November.
The wording of the ITF’s release on Wednesday had the simultaneous ring of relief at a tough decision finally made and crossed-fingers optimism that disturbing more than a century of tradition will not backfire.
“The finals are the centre-piece of a series of historic reforms that will transform Davis Cup and Fed Cup, the largest annual team competitions in sport,” the statement announced. “The ITF AGM will be asked to approve the full reform package at its meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in August.”
The new event will run for three years on hard court at Palexpo, an 18,000-seat venue where more than 10 Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties have been staged. The other cities on the shortlist were Copenhagen, Istanbul, Miami, Turin and Wuhan.
“All six cities submitted world-class bids,” the ITF said, “reflecting the consensus in the market that combined finals would be more attractive for fans, sponsors and broadcasters. More than 20 cities expressed interest in hosting the new season-ending event.”
The Fed Cup semi-finals might also be included in the festival, which would allow the world group to expand from eight to 16 teams. The home-and-away format will continue for other rounds of both competitions.
Haggerty said: “The creation of the World Cup of Tennis finals is at the heart of a series of reforms that represent the most significant changes in the history of Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. Change is needed to ensure that we maximise the full potential of these iconic and historic competitions. We’ve consulted widely and listened carefully, and believe we will deliver an exceptional new event for fans, players and nations.
“By providing Geneva with a full year to organise and promote the event, it will be able to fully maximise the competition’s potential, elevating venue and hosting standards to a consistent grand slam level and delivering the very best athlete and fan experience.”
Bruno Soares, Jamie Murray’s Brazilian double partner, was among the first to respond to the news, and did not view the changes favourably. He tweeted: “Very tough for players to get back on Davis Cup mode when ITF itself is slowly killing the competition. #badchanges #daviscup” Kevin Mitchell
Very tough for players to get back on Davis Cup mode when ITF itself is slowly killing the competition. #badchanges #daviscup
— Bruno Soares (@BrunoSoares82) June 28, 2017
