Wimbledon 2021: Novak Djokovic says 'I don't mind slipping if I keep winning'

Novak Djokovic says he’ll take all the falls on Wimbledon’s slippery courts that come his way – if it means he’ll retain his title.

The state of the SW19 grass has become a burning issue since Serena Williams and Adrian Mannarino both took tumbles which ended their involvement in the championships.

The mishaps happened on Centre Court where Djokovic opened the tournament on Monday, slipping more times in any match he could remember. He lost his footing again on Wednesday, but still emerged with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Kevin Anderson.

Novak Djokovic takes another tumble

Afterwards he said: “I definitely had a very close contact with the grass in the first match and also in the second one. A few falls, maybe more than I would like, but I don't think it's about courts.

"Obviously it was raining for a few days. Maybe the first match under [Centre Court’s] roof, the humidity affects the moist, the kind of surface of the grass, and it becomes a bit more slippery than in normal circumstances.

“But I think the fact that I didn't play on grass courts for two years, the fact that I'm coming from several months of clay court, a surface completely different in terms of movement and bounce and everything to the grass … I think I'm still adjusting my movement, adapting myself.

"It's been, as I said, only two matches. Hopefully as the tournament progresses I'll also fall less, even though I don't mind falling more if the result is winning a match.”