Novak Djokovic has made an unexpectedly swift return to the tennis court – and he is clearly weighing up the prospect of playing at Wimbledon next week.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion went under the knife on June 5 after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee during a fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo at the French Open.
At the time, it appeared hugely unlikely that Djokovic would be able to play at Wimbledon, with a first Olympic gold medal his biggest goal.
But the Serbian, who has returned to the No 2 position in the ATP rankings after Carlos Alcaraz’s early exit at the Queen’s Club Championships, has made remarkable progress and could well be in the draw on Friday after all.
That is not yet guaranteed, with Djokovic keen to test himself in practice over the next few days, but a post by Wimbledon on their social media accounts showing the 37-year-old hitting at the All England Club on Sunday.
Djokovic has won the Wimbledon title seven times and is just one title win behind all-time record holder Roger Federer, but what are the chances of him taking his place in this year’s Championships after undergoing surgery earlier this month?
The truth is, Djokovic probably doesn’t even know the answer to that question right now.
Numerous medical experts have voiced their opinions on Djokovic’s hopes of playing at Wimbledon in recent weeks, with American Taylor Fritz among those suggesting the forme world No 1 could be back in time to play at Wimbledon.
“I told him what it was like for me,” said Fritz, who overcame a similar knee injury to play at Wimbledon thee years ago. “A lot of it comes down to the inflammation and how you react.
“It’s possible for Novak to play. It’s the exact same thing that I had and I played. Obviously, I wasn’t contending to win a title, I was just showing up to hopefully win a couple of rounds – but it is possible.
“When I did it I couldn’t even walk. People are different. It’s the same actual injury. It really comes down to the level of inflammation.
“You pretty much have your full strength immediately. It’s more just the inflammation from the surgery. As long as you can get that down and start playing without it puffing up again, you’re actually going to be fine to play.
“When I did it I couldn’t even walk. People are different. It’s the same actual injury. It really comes down to the level of inflammation.
“You pretty much have your full strength immediately. It’s more just the inflammation from the surgery. As long as you can get that down and start playing without it puffing up again, you’re actually going to be fine to play.”
Clearly, Djokovic’s recovery has gone well or he would not even have made the trip to London to test out his knee on what will be slick an relatively unused grass courts.
He had knee support hugging the area of concern and he also wore an arm brace for his practice session that was captured by photographers at the All England Club.
The fact that Djokovic would now be No 2 seed if he opts to play at Wimbledon may encourage him to believe he has a chance to shine, as there is a chance he would not have to face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and newly crowned Halle grass court champion Jannik Sinner to win the title.
Yet it would be the early rounds that would be most testing for Djokovic and if he does play at Wimbledon and further damage his knee, any hopes of him playing on clay courts at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer may evaporate.
Djokovic’s desire to equal Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles may be one of the reasons why he is so eager to play this summer, as he has openly admitted he is running out of time to add more notches to his already remarkable legacy.
There is no major rush for Djokovic to make his decision as he has until next Friday morning to make a call on his participation at Wimbledon, as he would be expected to pull out before the draw is made to avoid a fresh controversy.
Djokovic is expected to step up his intensity levels on court in the next few days and is believed to have lined up practice sessions with some top players, but playing a best-of-five-set match on a fresh, slippy grass so son after a knee operation would have to be a gamble.
It may be a gamble Djokovic is ready to take as he knows there may not be too many more chances for him to play at Wimbledon.