“The knee responded well, I didn’t have any relapses. So why not give me a chance?”. Novak Djokovic thus explained, in the classic press conference on the eve of Media Day, his decision to take the field at Wimbledon three weeks after the meniscus operation on his right knee.
“I arrived on Sunday. It’s been a very good week of training. Especially the last three days I trained very hard playing points and sets with Sinner, with Frances Tiafoe, yesterday with Medvedev, then a double session with Emil Ruusuvuori, and today with Rune,” he said. “We played very hard, there were a lot of situations where the knee was tested, like changes of direction. And it’s been very good so far.”
For this reason, Djokovic chose not to cancel himself from the scoreboard and to take to the court for the first round against the Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva on Tuesday. He’s not at Wimbledon just to get through a round or two, he said on the eve of the tournament. Djokovic goes on the court for records, for history. To win the 25th major, and overtake Margaret Court as the most successful ever in the Slams between men and women; to win his eighth Wimbledon and equal Roger Federer in the Championships’ roll of honour; to become the oldest champion in the Open Era and the first to triumph at Wimbledon more than once after turning 35.
