After training with Jannik Sinner – the new world number one – Novak Djokovic he wasted no time and attended the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic exhibition event to test the condition of his knee again.
The Serbian champion played a best of three sets match against Daniil Medvedev and managed to beat the Russian with a score of 6-3, 6-4. As normal, the Belgrade native paid a lot of attention to the movements to be made – especially from the baseline – and always tried to shorten the exchanges.
At the end of the challenge with Medvedev, Djokovic said he was quite satisfied with the level expressed today and explained that he does not feel like a superhero at all, because many athletes have followed a similar path after an injury.
Djokovic: “My doctor is the real MVP. Grateful to be here, I’m happy”
“I enjoyed the match today. I thank everyone for coming to see this event. I can tell you that playing tennis freely is the best thing.
I’m grateful that I was able to do this. Daniil is obviously one of the best players in the world. I played a couple of practice sets and I really wanted to come here to test my knee and understand how I could move.
The test went well and I’m really happy. I think my team is happy. It’s been a very intense three weeks after the operation. I’ve spent a lot of hours to complete the rehabilitation and try to be ready for Wimbledon” , Djokovic said in the post-match interview.
“I wanted to give myself the chance to play Wimbledon. The doctor who operated on me is here: he is the MVP. They did a fantastic job and I thank them. Without them I would not be here playing. I am trying to think day by day, we will see where I can get.
Superman? Also Taylor Fritz he did. I probably had 3/4 more days than him. He was the first person I spoke to after the injury, because he went through something similar.
He shared his journey with me and it helped me a lot. I asked many people – like Stan Wawrinka e Zlatan Ibrahimovic – because it’s the first time I’ve faced a similar problem.”
