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Novak Djokovic ‘Flattered’ by Giving Advice to World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Ermina Reyaz | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 4:48 PM ET

Amidst a massive upset of seeded players in the opening round, Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic had safely made it to the second round of the Wimbledon Championships this year. Ahead of the tournament, the two players trained together and shared some light-hearted moments.

After Djokovic’s first round win over Alexandre Muller, the Serb spoke to the press about his interaction with the World No. 1:

After the practice, she asked me a couple of things. It always makes me happy to be able to share things with someone. It is something I have done many times with my teammates. What we talked about will stay between us, and I hope it helps her, even if it is something she has heard before. Perhaps hearing it from me will have a different impact on her. I feel flattered that the world number 1 comes to me and asks for advice and questions. It is a privileged position I am in.

Sabalenka had a comfortable straight set victory over Carson Branstine in the opening round, while Djokovic fought past Muller in four sets. Sabalenka will be looking to clinch her maiden Grand Slam title outside of hard court, while Djokovic will be looking to tally Roger Federer‘s record of 8 Wimbledon titles.

Novak Djokovic overcame “stomach bug” to reach second round

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic began his latest pursuit of an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title by overcoming Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 6-2 on Centre Court.

I went from feeling my absolute best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes. Whether it was a stomach bug, I don’t know what it is. I struggled with that but the energy came back and I managed to finish the match on a good note.

The 38-year-old squandered six set points in the second before appearing to struggle early in the third set- later confirming that “something was off with the stomach” but regained his form after a medical timeout to win 10 of the final 12 games.

Aryna Sabalenka prevails after a tough battle in the second round

Two-time semifinalist Aryna Sabalenka breezed past Carson Branstine with a scoreline of 6-1, 7-5 in her opening round match at Wimbledon. The Belarusian then met Marie Bouzkova in the second round.

The second round match was pretty tense. The opening set went with serve until the Belarusian doubled-faulted in the 11th game to give Bouzkova the chance to serve for the set. But the World No. 1 broke back with an intense backhand down the line and came out on top in a tough tie-break to establish a foothold in the match.

The 27-year-old broke again in the fifth game of the second set and soon sealed the win with a scoreline of 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka is the only top-three seed left in the women’s draw after the opening round exits of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff earlier this week. This marks the first time in the Open Era that two of the top three seeds lost in the first round of a Grand Slam.

Sabalenka is also the only top-five seed remaining after the second round following the exit of last year’s semifinalist Jasmine Paolini. In her next round, Sabalenka will play Emma Raducanu who defeated 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets in the second round.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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