"Cannot believe Novak Djokovic is in the Wimbledon 2024 draw" - Serena Williams' ex-coach questions Serb's SW19 participation after knee surgery
Novak Djokovic's participation at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships has drawn a concerning assessment from Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs. The former doubles No. 1 expressed her disbelief at the Serb being in the draw for the prestigious grasscourt Major less than a month after undergoing knee surgery.
Djokovic sustained a right knee meniscus tear during his fourth-round thriller against Francisco Cerundolo at this year's French Open. The Serb managed to win the match in five sets but was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros, citing the need to undergo immediate surgery. Following surgery, the 24-time Grand Slam winner was on crutches for a while before resuming preparations for Wimbledon.
Even after arriving early at SW19 to finalize his preparations, Djokovic maintained an air of uncertainty surrounding his Wimbledon participation. However, as things stand, the Serb will play and hope to win a record-equaling (with Roger Federer) eighth Wimbledon title.
Stubbs, who worked with Serena Williams for the 2022 US Open, has failed to comprehend Djokovic's decision to play at Wimbledon. The 53-year-old spoke from her own experience to shed light on how difficult it can be to make a complete recovery so swiftly from surgery to treat a torn meniscus.
"I cannot believe (that Djokovic is in the Wimbledon draw). I've had two meniscus surgeries and I can tell you, six weeks was the minimum before I came back, and I still think that was too early for me," Stubbs said during a conversation with former ATP World No. 11 Sam Querrey on NBC Sports.
Williams' former coach also suggested that there are risks involved when Djokovic's first tournament following the surgery is on Wimbledon's "slippery grass".
"I cannot imagine having surgery on my knee and the first tournament I play is slippery grass, because you know the first day, you know Sam, you make one wrong step and bang! your knee goes down. We've seen it over and over and over. We saw it with Vondrousova last week, like, it's a dangerous surface to play early on because it's so slick. So, I cannot believe that he's actually in the draw," Stubbs added.
"I enjoyed myself" - Novak Djokovic after playing an exhibition match against Daniil Medvedev ahead of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships
In the buildup to this year's edition of the Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic took part in the Hurlingham Classic to play an exhibition match against Daniil Medvedev. The Serb won 6-3, 6-4, and expressed how much he had enjoyed playing against the Russian.
"I can tell you that I enjoyed myself today. I can tell you that pain-free tennis is the best tennis. And it was a great test obviously against one of the best players in the world. I played a couple of practice sets in the last few days and I really wanted to come out here to test my knee; to see how I feel; move around; try to stay low – the ball bounces very low on grass, especially here," Djokovic said during the post-match, on-court interview.
The former World No. 1 is slated to start his 2024 Wimbledon campaign against qualifier Vit Kopriva on Tuesday, July 2. If he wins, he will face either wildcard Jacob Fearnley or qualifier Alejandro Moro Canas in the second round.