Taylor Fritz has been a key man in understanding that Novak Djokovic may be competing next July 1 at Wimbledon. The American suffered the same knee injury as the Serbian in 2021, also at Roland Garros, and days later he was able to reach the third round of Wimbledon.
Fritz, while playing his second round match at Roland Garros in 2021 against Dominik Koepfer, suffered a fall and heard a crunch in his knee. He could not continue in the match and had to leave the court in a wheelchair. It was a meniscus injury, the same one that ‘Nole’, and had to undergo surgery.
Despite the chilling image he left in Paris, three weeks later, he won two matches at Wimbledon, against Brandon Nakashima and Steve Johnson. The first to three sets and the second to five, and also led to four to Alexander Zverev in the third round, where his tournament ended.
He is the perfect example for Djokovic, which is why the Serbian decided to write to him a few days ago: “He had a very similar situation and after 20 or 21 days after the operation he was playing, three rounds, with four and five set matches. It is possible, he showed it,” he expressed to the journalists present at the Wimbledon training sessions.
“I told him what it was like for me,” Fritz said in an interview with Tennis365. “The worst part is the inflammation and how you react to that. It is possible that Novak plays. It is exactly the same as what I had and I played. When it happened to me I couldn’t even walk, but each one is different, even if this is the same injury. Very quickly you regain strength. The most important thing is the inflammation and if you can reduce it and play without it becoming inflamed again, you will be able to play.”
The situation of Fritz and Djokovic does differ in the final objective. For the American, being able to play Wimbledon and pass a round was enough; For the Serbian, anything other than winning the title is a disappointment and almost a setback with the Olympic Games, where he only has one bronze in four appearances, on the horizon.
