Novak Djokovic injured his knee at the French Open. He is now back on the court at Wimbledon – and feels prepared for tough matches.
Superstar Novak Djokovic says he is going into the grass classic in Wimbledon “pain-free”. “It was an intense three weeks after the operation, during which I spent many hours in rehab,” said the Grand Slam record champion before the start of the oldest tennis tournament in the world, adding: “I always wanted to give myself a chance to be in London. I think my surgeon is here. He is certainly the ‘MVP’ (most valuable player) of the past three weeks.”
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The 37-year-old Serb had to undergo surgery after a serious knee injury at the French Open, where he lost in the quarter-finals to Casper Ruud. His start at Church Road had been questionable. A relaxed test match against Daniil Medvedev on Friday served as the final test for the former world number one.
“I played a few practice sets, but I really wanted to test myself. The test was very successful, so of course I’m very happy,” Djokovic said of the 6-3, 6-4 win and added: “I can tell you that pain-free tennis is the best tennis. I was pain-free and I’m really happy about that.”
Djokovic seeks advice from Vonn and Ibrahimovic
On his way back to the court, Djokovic also sought advice from other sports stars who had overcome similar injuries to him in the past. “I asked a lot of athletes – (Stan) Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and they were all very kind to share their experiences with me and give me contacts to people who can help me,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion.
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In the first round, Djokovic will face number 123 seed Vit Kopriv from the Czech Republic. The exceptional player has recently reached the final of the most famous tennis tournament five times in a row and only lost to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in 2023. With another win, he would catch up with record champion Roger Federer (eight titles).
2024-06-29 04:36:13
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