Not surprisingly, Novak Djokovic was far from convinced he could win Wimbledon when the tournament began less than a month after his surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Now he’s just one win away from what would be an eighth title at Wimbledon — equalling Roger Federer for the most by a man — and a 25th grand slam overall, more than any player ever. Won’t be easy: On Sunday, he will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch of last year’s final here.
“History is on the line,” Djokovic said about the milestones at stake for him. “Of course, it serves as a great motivation, but at the same time, it’s also a lot of expectations. Every time I step out on the court now, even though I’m 37 and competing with 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches. And people expect me to win.”
It’s doubtful that many counted on him to win enough to make his way to the last day of this fortnight — at least not early June, when he hurt his knee at the French Open and was operated upon in Paris. Even Djokovic was uncertain until a few days before the Wimbledon draw in late June that he would compete at all.
Still, during Roland Garros, it was Alcaraz who noted Djokovic’s past history of returning from injuries: “He comes back stronger and he comes back quickly.” And, on the eve of Wimbledon, it was Alcaraz who called Djokovic superhuman for managing to return to action.
Djokovic said he derived some optimism from texting with Taylor Fritz, the American who injured his meniscus at the 2021 French Open and competed at Wimbledon three weeks later.
Fritz was on a flight home from Paris when he received a message, and later a note seeking more input after the surgery. “If there’s anything he probably took from what I said, it was just confidence that it’s doable,” 26-year-old Fritz said.
All in all, this has been a subpar season for the Serb. Not only hasn’t he won a title, but he hadn’t even reached a final at any tournament until now.
But none of that matters on Sunday, when he will try to stop the third-seeded Spaniard from collecting his fourth slam title.
“I know how it’s going to feel playing against Djokovic. I know what I have to do. I’m sure he knows what he has to do to beat me,” said Alcaraz, only 21 but 3-0 in major finals.
That includes beating Djokovic in five sets 12 months ago at Wimbledon.
“He’s a very complete player. Impressive what he has done for such a young age. ... Probably all of us share the same opinion — that he’s going to win many slams in his career,” Djokovic said on Friday. “Hope he’s going to give me this one in two days, and let’s see. After that, I’ll cheer for him.”
Watching the action will be Kate, the Princess of Wales, for only her second public appearance since her cancer diagnosis.
