Novak Djokovic vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber: Score and Reaction from 2015 Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic came through a tough challenge in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday, beating Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

As defending champion, Djokovic opened proceedings on Centre Court. But despite the straight-sets victory, he did not have it all his own way.

The accomplished Kohlschreiber forced Djokovic to work hard, and the 28-year-old came through in just over two hours.

ATP World Tour confirmed the result:

After his victory, Djokovic hailed his opponent's performance while looking ahead to the future rounds, per BBC Sport's Piers Newbery: "He can be very tricky on all the surfaces, especially grass, and had nothing to lose, but I managed to stay composed. I made the crucial breaks at 5-4 in all three sets, so hopefully it can stay that way for me."

Djokovic took the advantage straight from the off, claiming a 1-0 lead with ease and cruising to 0-40 in Kohlschreiber's first service game.

The German did well to save all three break points but could not avoid going 2-0 down, and the world No. 1 looked to be in complete control.

However, Kohlschreiber produced a couple of terrific backhands to break straight back and consolidated with a service game to love to prove he would be no pushover. 

There were some slight distractions for Djokovic early on, per Wimbledon, but he looked rusty in his first competitive match since his French Open final defeat:

Some uncharacteristic errors from the serve gave Kohlschreiber small opportunities to take the lead in the opener, but he could not take any of them.

Eventually, a sloppy service game at 5-4 from Kohlschreiber—which included two double-faults—handed Djokovic his second break and the set, but it was far from convincing.

He looked to relax a little in the second set and found his groove as he consistently held serve with ease and attacked Kohlschreiber.

However, an early break was not forthcoming, and once again, the set reached 5-4 with the 31-year-old having to serve to stay in the set.

There were no wobbles on the serve this time. Kohlschreiber played a superb game, mixing up his shots, but Djokovic moved up a gear.

A terrific lob from the defending champion after a long rally saw the game to deuce, and he then produced a brilliant backhand pass to break again for 6-4 and a two-set lead.

An early break came for Djokovic in the third set when he produced a beautifully weighted drop shot from the back of the court for advantage at 2-1, and Kohlschreiber went long to go 3-1 down.

At two sets and a break down, it looked as though the world No. 33 might give up, but he took the third of three break points in the next game to get back on serve at 3-2.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

The pattern of the match repeated itself, though. Kohlschreiber's errors sneaked in as the set wore on, and Djokovic took advantage. Once again, a double-fault at 5-4 had him on the back foot, and though he hit a couple of winners, two more errors saw the game to deuce.

Kohlschreiber netted to hand Djokovic match point, and the German then hit wide to give the top seed a straight-sets victory.

It was far from comfortable for Djokovic, but he marches on in straight sets after a difficult draw and will surely improve as the tournament moves on.  

He will face the likes of Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray if he wants to go all the way again this year, all players who will punish Djokovic's mistakes where Kohlschreiber couldn't on Monday.

But Wimbledon can't be won on the opening day, and Djokovic did enough to see himself through. He will know what improvements need to be made, and there is little doubt he will hit top form come the business end of the tournament.