Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame a scare to notch up his 80th Wimbledon win on Monday with a four-set victory over Kwon Soon-woo of the Republic of Korea.

Six-time champion Djokovic triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 under the Center Court roof.

But the top seed was made to work after falling a break down in the opening two sets against his 81st-ranked opponent – losing the second of those.

Djokovic becomes the first player to record 80 singles wins at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

"Now we have got to 80, let's get to 100," said Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam title winner.

"I didn't play any lead-up tournaments before Wimbledon, so you always feel less comfortable.

"Kwon stays close to the lines, hits clean forehands and backhands, so I had to find a way to go through him.

"That meant figuring out tactically how to get control of the points."

"Credit to Kwon for playing some really high-quality tennis, he deserves some applause," said Djokovic. "If he had broken me in the third set, this match could have gone a different way."

The top seed won three out of four Grand Slam titles last year but lost in the U.S. Open final in September, and then caused controversy when he arrived to defend his Australian Open title only to be held and then deported because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.

He then lost in the French Open to eventual winner Rafael Nadal who moved ahead of the Serbian on 22 titles to Djokovic's 20.

"I've experienced something that I've never experienced in my life in Australia. So, this post-Australian period of next several months was challenging emotionally for me because of a lot of different factors," Djokovic said.

In the women's singles match, home favorite Emma Raducanu, who nursed injuries in the buildup to the tournament, defeated Belgian star Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4, 6-4.

The 19-year-old said she was going to "just rock up" at Wimbledon.

Making her Wimbledon debut last year as a wild-card entry ranked No. 338, Raducanu reached the fourth round of the tournament and later made history as the first qualifier to win a grand slam title at the U.S. Open.

"To come and play here, it's extremely special," Raducanu said of the Center Court at Wimbledon. "This club itself, it's just amazing to walk on these grounds and these courts. I'm just so happy to stay another day."

(With input from agencies)

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