Novak Djokovic: First-Round Dominance Proves He's Bounced Back from French Open

The French Open was a long, hard-fought battle for Novak Djokovic, and it wasn't a successful battle, either.

But now that he's at Wimbledon, he's not thinking about falling to Rafael Nadal in a rain-delayed finals match, and it showed.

In his first-round matchup on Monday, the reigning champion easily took down Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Centre Court, proving that the French Open loss—and the rocky road he traveled along the way to the finals—has long been forgotten.

Two weeks ago at Roland Garros, Djokovic saw his 27-match winning streak at Grand Slams come to an end at the hands of Nadal, and early in his match against Ferrero at Wimbledon, it looked like he might be suffering some lingering effects of that loss.

But despite falling behind early, Djokovic took little time to rebound and made quick work of his opponent, who was no slouch: Ferrero won the 2003 French Open and has been to the Wimbledon quarterfinals twice.

But not this year. Not facing the world's top-ranked player who's hungry for a second straight title here after losing the French Open to his fiercest rival just two weeks ago.

Djokovic certainly realizes he has to be on the very top of his game in order to stay even with Nadal and Roger Federer at Wimbledon. At least one of them figures to be in the finals this year. Djokovic has emerged victorious in four of the last six Grand Slams, and either he, Nadal or Federer has won 28 of the last 29.

Djokovic admitted that the prospect of defending his title was nerve-racking, at least in the beginning of his opening match, but he got his head in the game quickly enough to rebound.

Afterward, Djokovic told The Independent's Steve Tongue:

"

In the opening games I missed some overheads and I was nervous. It's normal. The first two sets were exciting and close and I was very satisfied with my performance.

"

A year ago, Djokovic conquered Rafael Nadal to win for the first time at Wimbledon, and regardless of what has transpired against his top rival since then, or how recently he himself has been conquered, he's confident he can do it again.

If Monday's first-round matchup is any indication, he's right. Now that the first-round kinks are out, it's time to roll.