Djokovic: 'The knee has responded very well'

Novak Djokovic provided a positive update regarding his recovery from knee surgery on Saturday ahead of Wimbledon. The 24-time major champion underwent an operation to repair a torn meniscus after withdrawing before his Roland Garros quarter-final.

“I arrived here on Sunday. It’s been a week of training. Very good week of training. I had, particularly the past three days, very intense tennis sessions. I had points. Practice sets played with Sinner, with Frances Tiafoe, with Medvedev yesterday, and Emil Ruusuvuori, actually double session, and then today with Rune, as well,” said Djokovic, who is set to play Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva in the first round. “High intensity. Lots of I guess situations on the court where the knee is tested to almost the maximum. Change of directions, so forth.

“The knee has responded very well to all of that so far, which of course then is a great sign for my participation in Wimbledon. That’s why I decided to be in the draw.”

Djokovic pointed out that he still has time before he begins his tournament Tuesday, but explained that he is “confident” about the health of his knee and general physical state.

“Obviously once the tournament starts, I’ll have more I guess sensations and more feedback from how knee reacts to a best-of-five Grand Slam match,” Djokovic said. “So far everything that was done was very positive.”

The Serbian revealed that he “made a very quick decision” to undergo surgery and that he “was very much in doubt of making Wimbledon”. But he spoke to Taylor Fritz, who went through a very similar situation three years ago.

“He said 21 days after [the injury] he played his first round in Wimbledon. Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, they all shared their experiences,” Djokovic 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.”

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A reporter asked Djokovic why it was so important for him to return to action so quickly, given the wealth of experience and success he has already achieved at this level.

In part, Djokovic explained that, “It’s this incredible desire to play, just to compete. 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.”

The 37-year-old also made clear he did not arrive at Wimbledon just to prove he can compete in “one or two matches”.

“I really want to go for the title,” Djokovic said. “So the last three days have given me enough optimism and good signs that I can actually be in a state to compete on the highest level for the next few weeks, hopefully.”

The best news for Djokovic is that he has not had a setback during his recovery.

“If I had one setback, I would be then questioning whether I should be here or not,” Djokovic said. “But I haven’t had a single one. Why not give it a shot?”

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