Novak Djokovic has 'reached out' over knee surgery and 'it's possible' he plays Wimbledon, says Taylor Fritz
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Published 19/06/2024 at 20:12 GMT
Novak Djokovic looks to be in a race against time to be fit for Wimbledon and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following knee surgery. Djokovic has posted a video of himself training in the gym and world No. 10 Taylor Fritz has said that Djokovic has contacted him to ask “some questions” about the recovery. Fritz underwent surgery following the 2021 French Open and recovered to play Wimbledon.
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Taylor Fritz has revealed Novak Djokovic has “reached out” to him regarding his recovering from knee surgery, and thinks “it's possible” the 24-time Grand Slam champion could be fit for Wimbledon.
Djokovic underwent knee surgery following the French Open and is seemingly in a race against time to be fit for Wimbledon and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
World No. 12 Fritz also had knee surgery after needing a wheelchair to get off the court at the 2021 French Open.
Just three weeks after the surgery he was playing at Wimbledon and reached the third round.
Fritz has said that Djokovic has been in contact and asked him “some questions” about the recovery.
Djokovic has been named in Serbia's tennis squad for the Olympics.
“I told him what it was like for me,” he said at Queen’s, as reported by tennis365.
“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.”
Djokovic, who said after surgery he hopes to return “as soon as possible”, has posted a video on social media of himself training in the gym.
Fritz said that he was hitting again just “five to six days” after surgery.
“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,” he said.
“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.
“I was doing three-four hours of PT, a lot of icing, trying to stick to a diet which was not going to cause extra inflammation because I was real determined to play Wimbledon.
“But for me it was a little bit different. If Novak goes to Wimbledon he wants to be there to win. Playing a whole tournament is different than me at the time going there.
“I was going to be a low seed anyway. Winning a couple of rounds was a solid result for me.”
Fritz made the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2022 and has reached the same stage at two of the last three majors.
He started his grass season with victory over Taro Daniel at Queen’s on Tuesday.
“This is my first week on grass, the first year I’ve ever not played on grass prior to this week and I’ve not done a ton of practising, but I feel I played pretty solid to the honest,” he said.
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“It’s about getting my timing. That’s such a big part of my game. Specifically for me, my backhand and my serve is what works for me on grass. It’s about feeling it out and getting used to it. I’ve literally never had a good result the first two weeks of a grass court season. All my good results come last two weeks.
“It’s about being here and trying to find it and figure things out and make sure I’m playing my best tennis for Wimbledon.”
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