By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday June 29, 2024
With a week of practice under his belt, and just barely over three weeks since he underwent a surgery to repair his meniscus, Novak Djokovic told reporters he has not suffered a setback and is “all-in” on chasing down another Wimbledon title.
The seven-time Wimbledon and 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated Daniil Medvedev in an exhibition on Friday, another step in what he told reporters has been a very smooth comeback.
Now it is time for the Serbian juggernaut to commit 100 percent to winning Wimbledon once again.
“I don't see myself holding back,” he said. “I don't see myself calculating or being a bit more cautious in the movement. I don't see that happening.
"Really, I go all in. I go full out. I mean, that's the way I've been playing my entire career. If I don't have the feeling that I can do that on Tuesday, I wouldn't be speaking to you guys today. I wouldn't be in the draw, that's for sure. All the days that I've spent here give me only positive signs and encourage me to really think, not just think, but feel that I can do it.”
Djokovic, who will face Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva in his first-round match on Tuesday in Centre Court, went on to explain why he chose to return so quickly after surgery, when a crowded summer of elite tennis is around the corner.
He says that he couldn’t resist the allure of Wimbledon.
“I know that Olympics are right after that on a completely different surface,” he said. “I know all of that. But I'm thinking about Wimbledon. It's a dream tournament. I needed to focus all my attention on that.
“We put a huge amount of hours in the last three weeks on a daily basis into rehab, into exercises, basically raising the level of intensity of training and rehab every single day, of course being very cautious of the knee and the reactions. I haven't had any setback. If I had one setback, I would be then questioning whether I should be here or not. But I haven't had a single one. Why not give it a shot?”
Djokovic elaborated further, stressing his connection with Wimbledon, the tournament that inspired him when he was a young child dreaming of winning major titles and holding the No.1 ranking.
“I would just say it's this incredible desire to play, just to compete,” he said. “Particularly because it is Wimbledon, the tournament that always has been a dream tournament for me when I was a kid. I always dreamed of playing Wimbledon. Just the thought of me missing Wimbledon was just not correct. I didn't want to deal with that.”
For the 37-year-old, the idea of challenging himself and testing his limits was also part of the pull.
“I wanted to see how fast I can really recover, and can I really be in a condition to compete best-of-five on grass with best players in the world,” he admitted. “As I said a few days ago, I didn't come here to play a few rounds and prove to myself and others that I can actually compete in one or two matches. I really want to go for the title. So the last three days have given me enough optimism.”
Advice from Fritz, Wawrinka and Lindsey Vonn
Djokovic said he took particular inspiration from the fact that Taylor Fritz was able to return from a similar surgery in three weeks in 2021, after he injured himself at Roland-Garros that year. Fritz was 23 at the time, but nevertheless, Djokovic says the American’s bounce-back gave him hope that he could do it.
“His situation really gave me optimism that I can make it, too,” he said. “Knowing that there was someone who is a tennis player, plays on such a high level, already succeeded in such a short amount of time to be on the court and compete, it just made me a bit more relaxed, I guess, a bit more confident in my whole process and journey of rehabilitation.”
Djokovic said he also spoke with Stan Wawrinka, a veteran of multiple knee surgeries, and skier Lindsay Vonn.
“Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, they all shared their experiences,” he 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.
Since then it has been relatively smooth sailing for the Belgrade native. He says he hasn’t suffered a setback as he has continued to progress.
“If I had a day where my knee just flares up and I have swelling and inflammation, of course I would be slowing down, then my whole Wimbledon, this year's participation, would be in doubt. But that didn't happen,” he said. “It's not happening. My intensity is very high now. I played two sets, an hour and a half, with Medvedev (On Friday), then an hour with [Emil] Ruusuvuori.
"I played like three and a half sets yesterday. Another set and a half today. The knee is really fine.”
Next stop, round one…