Andy Roddick is in disbelief over the fact that Novak Djokovic would be competing at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships following his meniscus injury.
The American former World No. 1 described Djokovic’s recovery after his surgery as incredible and praised Serbian for being “a little bit different.”
Djokovic suffered a meniscus tear in the second set of his 5-set marathon victory against Argentinean Francisco Cerundolo at the 2024 French Open earlier this month.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was set to face Norwegian Casper Ruud in the quarters but was forced to withdraw from a title defense on Parisian clay and subsequently underwent a surgery on his right knee.
Many thought which starts on July 1, would come too soon for the legendary Serbian but the 37-year-old arrived in London yesterday and has already practiced at the SW19 lawns.
Djokovic, a 7-time Champion at the All England Club, is yet to confirm whether he will compete at the grass court major. He is one title away from equally Federer’s record of 8 titles at the event.
Just ahead of Wimbledon is 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris which would be a huge opportunity for Djokovic to clinch a long pending Olympic gold. The event will be hosted at Stade Roland Garros from July 27 to August 4.
On an episode of the Tennis Channel Live podcast, Roddick recalled his tennis days when he suffered the same injury as Djokovic and was not able to return to the courts such quick.
“I had a torn meniscus once upon a time and I wasn’t doing this. He is not like us. He is a little bit different,” said the 2003 US Open Champion.
“This is incredible, I can’t believe it. The fact that he’s posting this, he wants the attention of flirting with a Wimbledon bid and being healthy.
“He is certainly not dealing with this injury privately. This is crazy to think that he had surgery like a week ago.”
Former Wimbledon runner-up, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard also shared her thoughts on Djokovic’s odd of competing at Wimbledon Championships.
“If it’s humanly possible, Novak will be able to do it. “And it’s kind of starting to look like it’s humanly possible for him to make Wimbledon,” she said on the same podcast.