As expected, Novak Djokovic was on the roster when Team Serbia announced its lineup for the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this week. Djokovic is recovering from a torn medial meniscus that he suffered at the French Open.
The 37-year-old Serb was forced to withdraw prior to a scheduled quarterfinal match against Casper Ruud and underwent arthroscopic surgery a few days later. He hopes to be ready for a return to Roland Garros in late July and make a run at what would be his first gold medal. Djokovic has played in the bronze-medal match three times, winning it in 2008 before losing it in 2012 and 2021.
Of course, there is potentially another huge tournament in the cards prior to the Olympics. Wimbledon is less than two weeks away and there is still a chance Djokovic could play.
Taylor Fritz sustained a similar–if not the exact same–injury at the French Open in 2021. The American, who exited Roland Garros in a wheelchair, was able to take the court at the All-England Club a few weeks later. Fritz advanced two rounds before falling to Alexander Zverev in a fourth-set tiebreaker.
“I told [Djokovic] what it was like for me,” Fritz commented. “A lot of it comes down to the inflammation and how you react. It’s possible for Novak to play [Wimbledon]. 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.
“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. You pretty much have your full strength immediately [after surgery]. 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 (or) four hours of [physiotherapy], 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.”
Djokovic is a seven-time champion at the All-England Club and finished runner-up last year to Carlos Alcaraz.
I bet he will play, but can he win?