A ‘different’ Wimbledon now rests on this Novak Djokovic question

Alexander Zverev may have been missing something when he declared Wimbledon as the “most open Championships that we’ve had in 20 years”. Last year, Carlos Alcaraz became the first man other than Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray to win the Wimbledon title since 2002, a victory that signalled the start of a new era. But Djokovic, the man Alcaraz described as “superhuman” after returning from knee surgery in just three weeks, is still here. From looking out of Wimbledon, his recovery from a torn meniscus defies belief.

A shot at a record eighth title remains alive thanks to a surgeon hailed by Djokovic as his “MVP”. When the 37-year-old withdrew from his French Open quarter-final after slipping on the Paris clay, his chances of being fit for Wimbledon appeared slim. He was given a timescale of three to six weeks after undergoing surgery. Wimbledon just made the cut.

But Djokovic needed to come back sooner than that. Nothing was left to chance as he consulted a range of voices who had recovered from similar procedures. As he looked for reassurance, Djokovic spoke to fellow players Taylor Fritz and Stan Wawrinka, as well as others outside tennis, such as the former Milan and PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and downhill skiing champion Lindsey Vonn.

Encouraged by what he heard, Djokovic got to work. The Serbian now appears to have won his race with time to spare. He arrived at Wimbledon last Sunday and was so confident about his condition after hitting on the grass that he flew to Munich on Tuesday for Serbia’s final group game against Denmark at Euro 2024. A day later, Djokovic was back in Wimbledon for more practice. He has played “intense” sets with Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Emil Ruusuvuori. There has been no pain, swelling, or inflammation. Djokovic’s knee, in other words, feels good to go, his body ready for the start of another gruelling two weeks.

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But the form of the 24-time grand slam champion remains a different question, one that has been overshadowed by his fitness race. Djokovic has not reached a final this year, let alone won a tournament. His comprehensive defeat to Sinner in the Australian Open semi-final perhaps said more about the Italian’s rise than Djokovic’s waning powers, but his run of form from Indian Wells into the clay-court swing featured uncharacteristic defeats in early rounds. Djokovic’s surprise split from coach Goran Ivanisevic and other members of his team has been followed by a title drought and others, in return, are sensing an opportunity.

What is not in doubt is the hunger and drive to win an eighth Wimbledon. Simply appearing at the Championships proved too big a pull for Djokovic to ignore, even if it required rushing back from knee surgery to do so. At 37 and with the Olympic Games coming up in late July, Djokovic’s insistence to return to Wimbledon even surprised his wife Jelena, who questioned why he was taking a chance on his fitness by coming back so quickly. Djokovic admitted his decision was “less of a rational and logical explanation” and “more of an inner feeling and sensation”. Even playing remains a risk, as much as it has impressed the likes of Alcaraz.

The Spaniard is the favourite but returning as defending champion brings different pressures and expectations. His build-up has been different, too, given he went that bit deeper at the French Open, where he won his third grand slam title after coming from two sets down to defeat Zverev in the final, and went out early at Queen’s following defeat to the British No 1 Jack Draper. Alcaraz, too, is attempting to pull off the rare feat of winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same summer, a double that has only been achieved by legends of the sport.

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Alcaraz, though, is set to take to it with the same infectious spirit that lifted him to the Wimbledon title and ended Djokovic’s supremacy on Centre Court. “Let’s say I’m going to try,” he smiled. “Obviously, I want to put my name on that short list to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. I know that there’s going to be a really difficult and big challenge for me, but I think I’m ready to do it.”

Should Alcaraz return to the semi-finals, there is a good chance he will face world No 1 Sinner after the top two players in the game landed in the same half of the draw. Sinner and Alcaraz’s trajectories can often mirror each other and there are further similarities ahead of Wimbledon. Now, it is Sinner who arrives at SW19 as a grand slam champion for the first time, and having won his first grass-court title in Halle last week.

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“I feel like, especially on grass when you have a good confidence with also yourself, it can help you,” Sinner said. “Obviously, last week for me was an important week. Last year, I played semis here, so in my mind, I know that I can play also some good tennis on this surface.” Sinner, too, has recent experiences to learn from, which has been a key part of the Italian’s rise to world No 1 over the past year. It was the 22-year-old’s straight-sets defeat to Djokovic in last year’s semi-finals that drove the Italian to search for further answers in his game and led to his big breakthrough at the Australian Open.

Could someone else have theirs at the All England Club? Zverev could afford to act with a certain bullishness as he arrived at Wimbledon, declaring he could win it despite having never made it past the fourth round. “It’s the first time I really feel like I’m here to be a competitor, to maybe win the title,” said the German fourth seed, who has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and French Open final. “After Roger came Rafa, Novak, Andy. It was always a very limited amount of guys who were actually able to compete and to win the tournaments. I really feel it’s different this year.”