Due to its slick and slippery surface, grass is “a risky surface to play early on,” according to Stubbs, a former tennis great Serena Williams’ coach.
Many people in the tennis community were taken aback by Djokovic’s ability to recuperate and compete at Wimbledon so soon after he tore his meniscus at the 2024 French Open.
At Roland Garros on June 3, during the second set of his five-set semifinal victory over Francisco Cerundolo, the Serbian legend slipped and injured his meniscus.
Shortly after withdrawing from the French Open before his quarterfinal match against Casper Ruud, the 37-year-old underwent surgery on his right knee.
On Tuesday, second-ranked Djokovic will take on Vit Kopriva of the Czech Republic to open his Wimbledon campaign.
If he wins this year, the 24-time Grand Slam champion will have tied Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon men’s singles titles.
In an NBC Sports conversation with former world No. 11 Sam Querrey, Stubbs revealed that she was taken aback by Djokovic’s inclusion in the Wimbledon field.
The Australian remarked, “It’s unbelievable that Djokovic is participating in Wimbledon.” “I’ve had two meniscus surgeries, and I can attest that the minimum time I had to wait to return was six weeks, and I still believe it was too soon for me.
“You know, Sam, on the first day, you take a wrong step and bam, your knee goes down. I can’t fathom getting surgery on my knee and playing in a slippery grass competition.
“We’ve witnessed it countless times. We seen it with Marketa Vondrousova last week; it’s such a slippery surface that might be risky to play on too soon. I find it hard to believe he’s in the draw, then.
After winning last week’s exhibition match in Hurlingham over Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic was questioned about his level of fitness.
The legendary tennis player declared, “I can tell you that I liked myself really, really much today.”
“It’s true that the finest tennis is played without suffering. I’m very happy that I wasn’t in any pain. Obviously, playing against one of the greatest players in the world was a terrific test.
“I wanted to push myself more than just playing a few practice sets. Since the test was a huge success, I’m obviously very happy. Three weeks following surgery have been quite demanding due to long hours spent recovering.
“I’ve kind of always wanted to give London a shot for myself. My surgeon appears to be here. In the previous three weeks, he has undoubtedly been the MVP. I’m attempting to observe it day by day to gauge its progress.
