On Tuesday afternoon at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, Nick Kyrgios was watching Novak Djokovic win easily in straight sets over Vit Kopriva from the commentary box.

Novak Djokovic, who overcame an injury to advance to the Wimbledon second round, expressed empathy towards Nick Kyrgios.

Following a rupture of his right knee’s medial meniscus during the French Open, Djokovic is competing at Wimbledon. He had surgery on the ailment, and on Tuesday afternoon, he defeated Vit Kopriva in straight sets while sporting a brace on his knee.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion is seeded second at the All England Lawn Tennis Club and was in imperious form on Centre Court, winning 6-1 6-2 6-2 against his Czech opponent. After easing into the second round, Djokovic spoke openly about his comeback from injury, mentioning Kyrgios, who is working for the BBC as a pundit while he recovers from his own injury.

When comparing myself to other 37-year-olds, I’ve been fortunate. Like everyone else, I’ve experienced injuries, but they come and go. That’s just a part of your job, Djokovic remarked. All you need to do is accept and welcome it. Nick Kyrgios is in the commentary box, I believe. He has been battling injuries a lot. He’s had a number of serious injuries, to be honest. I consider myself very lucky to never have to take a long break from tennis.

“Being an athlete, I can relate to Nick and anyone else going through a difficult time. It’s difficult; there are moments when you almost feel powerless because something is keeping you from returning to what you love doing most, and you’ve been unable to work for years.

“Obviously coming into Wimbledon for me this year was very different because of the knee. I’m just really glad with how I played and how I felt on the court,” he said. “I didn’t know how everything was going to unfold on the court. I’m extremely glad with the way I felt and the way I played today.”

“I really tried to focus on the game and not think about the knee too much,” he continued. In order to be ready to play here for you today, my team and I have spent the last three weeks doing everything we possibly could. I suppose I would not have taken the chance and wouldn’t have hurried as much if it had been for any other tournament, but I simply adore Wimbledon and enjoy returning here.

“I would want to congratulate my surgeon one more for an excellent job. Being able to play at the best level and avoiding serious injuries has been beneficial, but things would be a little more problematic [without successful surgery]. It’s been my good fortune to return to tennis after a prolonged absence.”