Former world number one Novak Djokovic has confirmed his knee is in good shape after the first round at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Djokovic hadn't played prior to Wimbledon since being forced to withdraw from the French Open before the quarter-finals.
The medial meniscus tear was believed to be a risk to Djokovic playing Wimbledon, a tournament he has now won seven times, however, he looked somewhere near his best in a blazing 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Vit Kopriva on Tuesday evening (AEST).
The Serbian, who is on the 'easier' side of the draw where he will avoid both Carlos Alcaraz and world number one Janik Sinner until the final, is in pursuit of a staggering and unprecedented 25th grand slam title and said his knee felt good during the first-round rout.
Djokovic admitted if it wasn't Wimbledon, he likely wouldn't be risking his knee. The comments will likely raise eyebrows over his ability to go a full two weeks, but getting off court so quickly in the first round will help his cause.
“It was very good,” Djokovic said post-game.
“[I'm] very pleased with the way I felt on the court. Obviously coming into Wimbledon was a little difficult because of the knee. I didn't know how everything was going to unfold on the court. Extremely glad the way I felt today, the way I played today.
“I tried to really focus on the game and not really think too much about the knee. Everything I could possibly do, I've done, along with my team, in the last three and a half weeks to have a chance to be here. I think if it was any other tournament, I probably wouldn't have risked it, I just love Wimbledon.”
Djokovic now lines up for a second-round clash against Jacob Fearnley, before taking on either 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Australian Alexei Popyrin.
Looking further ahead, Djokovic would likely have to go through either Holger Rune or Karen Khachanov in the fourth round, Hubert Hurkacz, Alex De Minaur or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, before a semi-final against Alexander Zverev looms.
