Novak Djokovic won his first match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, and he talked about his knee after the win.
It isn’t even the 24-time major winner who is in a spotlight at SW19 this year, but instead, one of his body parts, his knee. Djokovic’s qualities are undeniable, and despite a really unsuccessful season so far, it’s not even worth discussing whether he is a Wimbledon favorite.
The Serbian won the tournament seven times, the most out of any active tennis player, and anytime he enters the Centre Court, his opponents have a reason to be scared, as his track record on that court is simply incredible, having lost last year for the first time in ten years.
This year, after knee surgery, the 37-year-old started with a convincing victory, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, over World No. 123, Vit Kopriva from the Czech Republic, and after the match, Djokovic talked about his knee, which has been discussed so much, because it directly impacts his chances of succeeding.
“I didn’t know how I’m going to feel on the court and how my knee is going to hold up. But very happy, very happy with the way I felt, with the way I played, with the way I moved. For an opening match, I couldn’t ask for a better start.”
Prior to the tournament, Djokovic suggested that he wouldn’t be pacing himself, but after his match against Kopriva, who seemingly never stood a chance in their match, because of the seven time champion’s qualities, he admitted that he didn’t push himself too much in the opening round.
“Obviously I started a little bit more cautious, I would say. I didn’t really maybe go for certain shots 100 percent in terms of the far balls in the first set. I played just enough to win confidently in straight sets.”
Still, as the match progressed, the World No. 2 player tried testing his knee more and more, and at one point, he even tried sliding on the court, one of the more risky movements following a surgery. It was a successful slide, and once again a positive sign for him moving forward, as his knee responded well.
“Those couple points I think when I broke him in the second set, I did one slide. That was the first slide of the grass court season for me. I haven’t done it even in a practice week. So that was a great test.”
“I felt happy that I did it because in a way you also feel mentally hesitant to do those extreme movements. But knowing that I can do it is, obviously, very comforting and very positive.”
