Tennis-Djokovic upbeat for Wimbledon after testing knee to maximum

LONDON (Reuters) – Seven-times champion Novak Djokovic says he has tested his troublesome knee to the maximum since arriving in London and is confident he will be ready for his opening match at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old withdrew from the French Open before his quarter-final with a torn meniscus and opted to have surgery in a bid to be fit for the year’s third Grand Slam.

“When that happened in fourth round of Roland Garros, I made a very quick decision to make surgery, I was very much in doubt of making Wimbledon,” Djokovic told reporters on Saturday.

“I arrived here on Sunday. It’s been a week of training. Very good week of training. I had, particularly the last three days, very intense tennis sessions. I had points, practice sets played with (Jannik) Sinner, with Frances Tiafoe, with (Daniil) Medvedev yesterday, and Emil Ruusuvuori and then today with (Holger) Rune, as well.

“Really top players that are playing great tennis on grass. High intensity. Lots of I guess situations on the court where the knee is tested to almost the maximum.

“The knee has responded very well to all of that so far, which of course then is a great sign for my participation in Wimbledon. That’s why I decided to be in the draw.”

Serbian Djokovic, who is bidding for a record 25th Grand Slam title, said he would have a better idea when he has tested the knee in a match situation.

“Obviously, once the tournament starts, I’ll have more sensations and more feedback from how my knee reacts to a best-of-five Grand Slam match,” he said.

The 37-year-old Djokovic said missing Wimbledon would have been tough to take.

“I wouldn’t call it a fear of missing out. I would just say it’s this incredible desire to play, just to compete,” he said.

“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 missing Wimbledon was just not correct.

“I didn’t want to deal with that. 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?”

Second seed Djokovic opens his bid for a men’s record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown on Tuesday against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)