Novak Djokovic brushes aside Philipp Kohlscreiber to reach the second round

Novak Djokovic plays a forehand in his win over Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round at Wimbledon.

Djokovic was off the blocks early as he broke Kohlschreiber’s serve in the second game to go 2-0 up. The German struck right back in the third game breaking Djokovic’s serve after the Serb had saved two break points from 15-40.

The German missed two break point chances in the seventh game with a wide forehand and by netting a first serve. Djokovic held his serve with an overhead smash. The World No. 1 was up 5-4 thanks to a backhand slice winner. Kohlschreiber served to stay in the set, but he netted his backhand on set point giving Djokovic the first set.

The second set was similar with neither player having many break point opportunities in the early goings. Djokovic again struck at the right time in the tenth game when Kohlschreiber sent his backhand wide.

Djokovic won 71% of points when he came to the net, but committed 20 unforced errors, most of which came off the forehand. The Serb broke the German in the fourth game to go 3-1 up, but couldn’t consolidate it.

The tenth game followed similar pattern to the first two sets with Djokovic breaking Kohlscreiber’s serve to seal the match.

Djokovic will face the winner of the match between Lleyton Hewitt and Jarkko Nieminen in the second round.