Facing Novak Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon has become one of the biggest tests in sport in the past decade. The Serbian has not lost a match on one of tennis’ grandest stages since 2013, when Andy Murray defeated the World No. 2 in the final.
Seeking a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title and record-equalling eighth overall, it will take quite a performance to stop the 36-year-old.
Australia’s Jordan Thompson is hoping he can be the player to do so. The 29-year-old rallied from two-sets-to-love down against Brandon Nakashima in his opening match to set a first meeting against Djokovic on Wednesday.
“Playing Novak is the toughest task in tennis at the moment,” Thompson told ATPTour.com ahead of the clash. “I know you have Rafa at Roland Garros. I’ve played him in Paris and that was incredibly tough, but this up there. You can look at his records and his stats. It’s unbelievable. He has 23 Slams. The odds are firmly in his favour.”
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While Djokovic enters the clash as the heavy favourite, Thompson stressed the need for a positive mindset. If you walk onto court with little belief, the battle could already be lost.
“I always said if you don’t believe you can win, you shouldn’t go out in the court, so as silly as it sounds, I have got to believe I can win, otherwise there’s no point,” Thompson said. “I’ll do everything I can. I know that he’s arguably the best player of all time and I am definitely going to have to play the match of my life if I want win.”
Djokovic possesses watertight groundstrokes, a deadly serve and a monstrous big-match mentality. In short, there are very few, if any, holes in his game. Thompson is hoping to construct a game plan and then execute a performance that can find them.
“Novak doesn’t look too uncomfortable in most matches,” Thompson said. “I’ll look at tapes. Look at the guys that have beaten him here before and there’s not many of those guys that have done, but I’ve got to do something that he won’t be expecting.”
The Australian does have experience of playing a Top 5 star at Wimbledon, having faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round last year on Court 1. The 29-year-old suffered a disappointing straight sets defeat that day but is hoping to learn from the experience when he meets Djokovic.
“I played Tsitsipas on Court 1 and it wasn’t a great day at the office. He played well. I guess he made me feel pressure and it really affected my game, but I’ve just got to do my best to stay calm and not let the occasion get to me,” Thompson said.
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The Australian, who enjoys watching rugby and cricket in his free time, has achieved good results on grass during his career. He advanced to the final at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2019 and 2023 and reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2021.
“I don’t know what it is about grass. I just love playing on it. I usually say it’s red and it’s not clay, so I enjoy being out there,” Thompson said, cracking a smile. “I am not the biggest guy, so I’ve got to rely on movement and skills to win points and just doing anything I can to throw my opponent off. I’d say I play with a fair bit of variety.”
Aiming to pull off the performance and win of his life against Djokovic, Thompson will hope all areas of his grass-court game click on Wednesday against the Serbian.