 "Serbia's Novak Djokovic practices during a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on July 1st, in London, Monday June 24, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)")
Novak Djokovic said it would not have been “correct” to miss Wimbledon even though he underwent knee surgery just over three weeks ago.
The 37-year-old Serb, who is looking to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and become the oldest champion in the modern era, said he was driven by his “incredible desire to play and compete”.
Djokovic needed surgery at the start of June to repair the damaged meniscus in his right knee after being injured at the French Open.
The injury was bad enough that he was forced to withdraw before his quarter-final and hasn’t played since, except for an exhibition match.
“I do have something that is described as a feeling of not missing out at a Grand Slam while I can still play and while I’m still active and at this level,” said Djokovic.
“I wouldn’t call it a fear of missing out. I would just say 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. Just the thought of me missing Wimbledon was just not correct. I didn’t want to deal with that.”
Djokovic arrives in London without a title or even a final appearance to his name this season.
Jannik Sinner, 22, took his Australian Open crown as well as his World No. 1 ranking .
Carlos Alcaraz, who beat him in the Wimbledon final 12 months ago, succeeded him as French Open champion earlier this month.
“I’m confident about the health of my knee and just general physical state is really good,” said the Serb who is chasing a 25th Grand Slam title.
“I haven’t had any setback. If I had one setback, I would be then questioning whether I should be here or not. But I haven’t had a single one. Why not give it a shot?”
Alcaraz has been impressed by what he’s seen of Djokovic just 24 days after getting operated. The Spaniard on Saturday described Djokovic as “superhuman”.
But the Serb said he was inspired by Taylor Fritz, the American player who was back on court 21 days after requiring similar knee surgery in 2021.
Fritz also suffered his injury at the French Open and needed a wheelchair to be taken off court.
After surgery, he returned at Wimbledon and made the third round.
“I think Taylor Fritz is a superhuman,” insisted Djokovic.
“His situation really gave me optimism that I can make it, too.
“Three weeks is just making the cut, so to say. It’s not ideal maybe in the eyes of the doctors and specialists that would normally tell you it’s normally between three and six weeks.
“But it’s also individual. It’s very subjective. Everyone has a different response to the recovery.”