Wimbledon 2016: James Ward battles back from horror start but is KO’d by Novak Djokovic
British No.5 suffered first set whitewash but recovered well and was eventually lost 6-0 7-6 6-4 against world No.1
Brave James Ward rallied from a disastrous start — but for all his fight he could not stop Novak Djokovic.
Ward wore a SunSport logo and his heart on his sleeve as he went down 6-0 7-6 6-4 to the world No 1.
“He’s only human, James,” said one member of the crowd as the British No 5 fought his way back into the match in the second set.
But for the first nine games, Djokovic had been an unstoppable tennis machine, becoming the first player in the Open Era to start the defence of a Wimbledon title with a 6-0 set.
The second was going the same way until Ward found the mental strength to hold serve at last, raising his arms in triumph and then urging the home crowd to raise the volume.
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The Brit fought like hell and Djokovic had to dig deep to save three break points at 5-5 and so deny Ward the chance to serve for the set.
The world No 1 took the tiebreak 7-3 though and seemed on course to cruise to victory when he broke for a 2-1 lead in the third.
But Ward kept battling and could hold his head high as he left court to a warm ovation.