Ahead of Wimbledon on Saturday, Novak Djokovic gave a favorable update on his recuperation from knee surgery. The 24-time major champion withdrew prior to his Roland Garros quarterfinal and had surgery to repair a damaged meniscus.
It was Sunday when I came here. We’ve been training for a week. Excellent training week. I’ve played really hard tennis, especially over the last three days. I made my points. Practice sets were conducted with Sinner, Frances Tiafoe, Medvedev, and Emil Ruusuvuori yesterday (a double session), and with Rune today as well,” added Djokovic, who will face Vit Kopriva, a Czech qualifier, in the opening round. “Extremely intense. There are a lot of, I suppose, circumstances on the court where the knee is nearly completely tested. Modification of directions, etc.
“So far, the knee has responded really well to all of that, which is obviously encouraging for my Wimbledon participation. That’s the reason I choose to enter the draw.
While acknowledging that he still has time until his tournament starts on Tuesday, Djokovic went on to say that he is “confident” about the condition of his knee and overall physical fitness.
“Obviously, as soon as the tournament commences, I anticipate experiencing additional sensations and input on my knee’s reaction to a best-of-five Grand Slam match,” stated Djokovic. “Everything that has been done thus far has been quite positive.”The Serbian said he “was very much in doubt of making Wimbledon” and that he “made a very hasty decision” to get surgery. But he spoke to Taylor Fritz, who went through a very similar situation three years ago.
“He said 21 days after [the injury], he played his first round in Wimbledon. Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, they all shared their experiences,” Djokovic said. “Really, that gave me faith and optimism that if rehab is done right and correct, and if, of course, the knee responds well, which is something that is very unpredictable, then there is a pretty good chance that I’ll make Wimbledon.”
