Novak Djokovic had some moans to his box, gave his knee a further test – albeit accidental – with a slip on the baseline and dropped a set but he eventually saw off brave Brit Jacob Fearnley in an entertaining and absorbing clash on Centre Court.
The Serb overcame the wildcard in four sets 6-3 6-4 5-7 7-5 but it wasn’t as easy as most would have expected.
Djokovic, 37, has had plenty of experience against Scotsmen in this part of the world but this year it obviously won’t be against Andy Murray.
Instead, he had Edinburgh native Fearnley to deal with and this had some of the drama reminiscent of the Serb against the other Scotsman.
The 22-year-old was just after celebrating his 12th birthday when he watched Murray take down Djokovic in the 2013 final at SW19. So it was something of a dream come true to be even sharing such a stage with the dominant Serb.
He admitted he had no idea how to beat Djokovic but he certainly knows how to take a set off him now and will take huge confidence from how he fought here. Fearnley will have felt in the battle in the first few games. He hit two superb winners in the eighth game at 3-4 to his opponent.
But then he found the net twice and a further error saw Djokovic get the first break of the game. The fine margins. It was also about the brilliance of Djokovic, though. His experience of forcing just one more shot to get the mistake so evident against the British No 13. So many holds of service felt like a fight really for the home favourite, cheered on by an almost full Centre Court.
There were moments early in the second set when Djokovic seemed frustrated. He was speaking up to his box between points but Fearnley couldn’t force a break. There was some concern when Djokovic slipped. Sporting a grey knee sleeve which is supporting the joint which he recently had surgery on, he rose tentatively but showed no real ill effects initially.
But there were times, like in his first round win over Vit Kopriva, that he perhaps held back on a slide or stretching too far but he was still a class above in the second set Djokovic went through some of his highlight reel repertoire to pull off some stunning shots and get the break in the fifth game of the third set.
He let out an almighty roar when Fearnley sent one beyond the baseline to go 3-2 ahead. It looked like he was almost there. But Fearnley offered a fight back as he got applause for one winner in the third set from Djokovic on his way to breaking back immediately.
Djokovic got a break point in the ninth game with a fine lob forced Fearnley back and he could only fire into the net but the Scot survived twice, a 28th winner of the match holding serve.
Fearnley got his moment in the 12th game when he broke Djokovic to seal the set. The fourth set allowed for perhaps the moment of the match as a stunning rally included a Djokovic lob and a Fearnley shot between his legs before the Serb fired a winner down the line.
Fearnley was matching Djokovic here as neither man gave up serve. Frustration was setting in for Djokovic again, a shake of the head here and a look to his box there. A double fault meant he had to defend two break points in the sixth game. When he won the game, the crowd were shushed.
Fearnley will perhaps be frustrated in how he gave up the break in the 11th game with a double fault. That’s all Djokovic needs to punish you and he got the job done to continue his quest for Wimbledon title No 8 as he looks to equal Roger Federer’s record.
The Edinburgh man, who couldn’t quite believe that he got a wildcard call before the tournament having been ranked outside the world’s top 500 just over a month ago, will be back watching the rest of the singles tournament from the sofa.
But he can always say he shared this court with greatness, put in a fine performance and can look to return with a better chance of progressing beyond the second round next time. He won’t have to face a seven-time winner every time.
Djokovic quite rightly signalled to the Centre Court crowd to give Fearnley his applause at the end as the fans stood to acclaim the Brit.