Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz flabbergasted by recovery speed of seven-time champion
: Getty Images/Rob Newell
Novak Djokovic’s three-week recovery from knee surgery has been described as “superhuman” by his main rival Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic has spent the past couple of days playing practice sets at Wimbledon and on Saturday he declared himself confident of being able “to compete at the highest level”.
Alcaraz, who defeated Djokovic in a classic final here last summer, told Spanish reporters that he has been stunned by the rapid turnaround between Djokovic’s operation on June 5 and his apparent return to full fitness.
“I told him that what he is doing is superhuman,” Alcaraz explained on Saturday. “The truth is that the recovery time he has had is amazing. Just two weeks, two and a half weeks, but he is already playing sets and points at a very, very level. high.
“He usually recovers quickly in general. We all know what he does off the court to be 100 per cent. The nutrition, the rest and everything he does is perfect so he can be there and perform at his best. So, in a way, I am surprised that he is already like this, but on the other hand not so much because of how he is.”
Djokovic has been so confident of his recovery timetable that he took Tuesday evening off to fly to Munich and support the Serbian football team at the Euros. Speaking at Wimbledon on Saturday, he was in buoyant spirits, admitting that even his wife Jelena had been surprised by the speed of his recovery.
Asked whether it wouldn’t have been more prudent to write Wimbledon off and prepare for the Olympic Games instead, Djokovic replied: “My wife also kind of asked the same question, right? Which is normal. At 37 years old, you want to maybe have less risk and prepare yourself for 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.
: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill
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