Novak Djokovic has revealed that he is pain-free ahead of Wimbledon. The Serbian had to withdraw from the Roland Garros quarterfinals against Casper Ruud when he had a meniscus tear in his right knee.
The veteran decided to undergo surgery in Paris but he recovered in time for the championship. Djokovic has been practicing on the grounds of Wimbledon in the last one week.
The 24-time Slam champion also played against World No.5 Daniil Medvedev in an exhibition match on the grass of the Hurlingham Club. The Serbian also registered a 6-3, 6-4 win against the Russian but more importantly, he looked comfortable on the court.
“I can tell you that I enjoyed myself really, really much today,” said Djokovic. “I can tell you that pain-free tennis is the best tennis. I was pain free and I’m really glad. It was a great test obviously against one of the best players in the world.
“I’ve played a couple of practice sets but I really wanted to test myself. The test was very successful so I’m obviously really glad. It’s been an intense three weeks after surgery, spending a lot of hours rehabbing.”
The 37-year-old added, “I kind of always wanted to give myself a chance to be in London. I think my surgeon is here. He’s the MVP for sure the last three weeks. I’m trying to take it day by day and see how far it goes.”
Djokovic revealed he contacted players like Stan Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Taylor Fritz to get help for his injury.
“I asked him [Fritz], I asked many athletes – [Stan] Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and they were all very kind to share some of their experiences and give me some contacts of people who could help me out,” explained Djokovic.
Djokovic will begin his Wimbledon campaign against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva on Tuesday.
