Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic left his wife confused last year when deciding to play at Wimbledon, having just recovered from a torn meniscus, but his gamble paid off
Novak Djokovic puzzled his wife when deciding to take to the grass of Wimbledon in 2024. The iconic Serbian has been triumphant seven times before in SW19 but heads there this year ranked as world No. 6.
The then-37-year-old’s year took a disappointing turn as Wimbledon approached 12 months ago. He was forced to retire from his French Open quarter-final four weeks prior due to a torn meniscus, which required significant surgery.
Djokovic had contested the last five Wimbledon finals before the decision came on whether he’d make an appearance in 2024. Despite his consistent and remarkable successes on Centre Court, the Serbian star couldn’t stay away, much to the bafflement of his other half, Jelena.
Ahead of the 2024 championships, Djokovic revealed his wife didn’t understand why he was playing and couldn’t give her a proper answer. When asked by FOX News why he opted not to sit out the historic competition, Djokovic quipped: “My wife also kind of asked the same question, right? Which is normal.
“[You are] 37 years old, you want to maybe have less risk and prepare yourself for the Olympic Games? So from that perspective, I don’t have an answer to that.
“But, I do have something that is described as a feeling of not missing out at a Grand Slam while I can still play and while I’m still active and at this level.
“I wouldn’t call it a fear of missing out. I would just say it’s this incredible desire to play, just to compete, particularly because it is Wimbledon, the tournament that always has been a dream tournament for me when I was a kid. Just the thought of me missing Wimbledon was just not correct. I didn’t want to deal with that.”
Djokovic will be present in west London for 2025, bringing his streak of consecutive appearances to 20. The 38-year-old had a stranglehold over SW19 from 2018 until 2022, winning four tournaments in a row to add to his trio of titles. His streak was ended by an up-and-coming Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller two years ago.
One year after his defeat in Wimbledon’s showpiece, Djokovic ignored his wife’s questioning and began his 2024 campaign with a dominant straight-sets win over Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva.
British wildcard Jacob Fearnley was up next, and he put up a valiant fight, taking a set off the Serbian before falling to a score of 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
Former top-25 Australian star Alexei Popyrin met Djokovic in the third round, and while he too stripped a set off the 24-time Grand Slam champion, he was swept aside. Fifteen-seed Holger Rune was Djokovic’s fourth-round foe, but he was no match and lost in straight sets.
Djokovic received a bye at the quarter-final stage after scheduled opponent Alex De Minaur was forced to withdraw from the event due to a hip injury.
The Serbian faced Lorenzo Musetti in the final four and bravely batted him to one side 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to set up a date with his adversary from 2023’s final, Alcaraz.
While many expected the contest to be tight, the young Spaniard was simply too scintillating for Djokovic and beat him 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) to lift back-to-back titles. The Serbian’s run to the final – which saw him pocket a cool £1.4million – perhaps justified his decision to compete at Wimbledon after his wife’s fears.
His run at SW19 also didn’t hinder his Paris 2024 bid, as he claimed gold to finally achieve his career goal. This year, there have been no such questions around his presence at Wimbledon, which could be his last with Djokovic continuing to flirt with retirement.