On June 30th, local time, Serbian tennis king Novak Djokovic attended the pre-Wimbledon press conference. Less than a month after knee surgery, the Serbian tennis legend is set to embark on his 19th Wimbledon campaign.
Djokovic revealed his current physical condition candidly: “After the fourth round of Roland Garros, I quickly decided to have surgery, and at that time, I was very uncertain about playing Wimbledon. However, talking to players who had similar experiences, like Taylor Fritz, gave me a lot of confidence. Three years ago, he had the same situation, injured at Roland Garros but played Wimbledon in 21 days. Additionally, Stan Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, and other players shared their experiences with me.”
Speaking about his training at Wimbledon over the past week, he said: “I arrived here last Sunday and have been training for a week, and it’s been great, especially the last three days when I increased the intensity. I had practice matches with Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Holger Rune – all top players with strong grass-court skills. My knee has been tested almost to its limits, with turns and such, and so far, the response has been positive. That’s definitely a good sign, and the reason I decided to compete.”
“I still have a few days to prepare, as I play on Tuesday. I’m confident in my knee, and overall, my physical condition is good. A Grand Slam is best of five sets, so once the matches start, I’ll get more feedback from my knee. So far, everything has been very positive.”
Djokovic attributes his decision to compete at Wimbledon to the smooth recovery process: “Three weeks might not be the ideal recovery time according to doctors, who usually recommend three to six weeks, but it depends on each individual’s response to surgery, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, and practice. Throughout this process, I didn’t encounter any setbacks. If my knee had shown inflammation or swelling at any point, I would have given myself more time to recover, which might have meant missing Wimbledon, but that wasn’t the case.”
Despite just recovering from his injury, some may argue that skipping grass to focus on the Olympics, where he has yet to win gold, would be a wiser choice. However, Djokovic says that while not participating in Wimbledon might have been more sensible, it’s an event he particularly doesn’t want to miss.
“My wife even asked me if, at 37, I should take fewer risks and better prepare for the Olympics. But I have a strong desire to compete, especially at Wimbledon, a tournament I’ve dreamed of since I was a child. Choosing not to play Wimbledon wouldn’t feel right to me, so it’s not the most rational decision. I’m aware the Olympics are coming up soon, on a completely different surface, but I’m focused on Wimbledon now – it’s my dream, and I need to concentrate fully on it.”
(Translated by Wang Fei)