Novak Djokovic opens his challenge for a first Wimbledon title against Jeremy Chardy on Centre Court.
Going into this year's Wimbledon, most of the title predictions have focused fairly exclusively on either Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer but let us not forget that Novak Djokovic has still only lost one match since last November.
The Serb's form has been simply staggering in 2011 and it took one of the finest performances of Roger Federer's career to end that 43 match winning streak in an enthralling French Open semi-final.
Djokovic has definitely underachieved on grass in the past. He admits he has struggled with the movement on the surface in previous years, reaching two Wimbledon semi-finals but not coming close to winning either. With the attention back on Federer and Nadal for the time being, Djokovic will be happy to coast under the radar for a little bit and he looked in scintillating form during the pre-Wimbledon Boodles Challenge exhibition tournament, where he destroyed Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-2.
"This is the highest I've been in the rankings and I'm definitely very satisfied with the way I've played in the last six, seven months - it has been the best period of my career," he enthused.
"I'm just trying to keep the momentum, keep playing well. Wimbledon is the most important tournament."
It is hard to see world number 54 Chardy putting up much resistance in the opening round. The Frenchman has been unable to win back to back matches on the tour this year and Djokovic has won all five of their previous encounters.
