“I didn’t come here to get through two rounds, but to win.” Not that anyone had doubts about his real intentions, but Novak Djokovic wanted to make things clear to his opponents, Sinner and Alcaraz first and foremost, as soon as he set foot in Wimbledon, a place that saw him triumph seven times.
sprint return
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The Serbian entered the gates of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Church Road just 18 days after having meniscus surgery, after injuring his right knee in the round of 16 of Roland Garros against the Argentine Cerundolo. He didn’t do it like anyone else, Djokovic isn’t and never will be, and after all Taylor Fritz had already said it when he recounted their chat about his recovery from surgery: “Nole wants to win and he’ll try straight away.”
the challenge
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“I didn’t come here to play a couple of rounds – said the former world number one in an interview with the BBC -. I will only play if I really know that I can be competitive, that I can do it, even if you can never really know 100% once you start a tournament what will happen after the possible first game or second game. I plan to see how things go day by day and then make a decision based on feelings. We’ll see how it goes in the next four or five days. If I realize that I am able to express myself close to my maximum or maximum, then I will play and try to win. Otherwise I will give someone else the opportunity to play the tournament.”
Safe
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In reality, the presence of Djokovic (who will be seeded number two if he participates) in the tournament is considered almost certain by media close to him and beyond. There is great optimism, given the extraordinary reaction that the physicist of the Belgrade phenomenon had immediately after the operation, but there is no shortage of unknowns, such as the fear that the operated part could become inflamed and swollen, making what today it is a miraculous sports recovery.
