After losing in the French Open final, Novak Djokovic wanted nothing to do with tennis. Now, with his opening match at Wimbledon coming Monday on Centre Court, the top-ranked Serb is firmly focused on defending his title.
“Took me some time really to recover and to rest after Paris. I didn’t want to think about tennis too much,” said Djokovic, who lost to Stan Wawrinka in four sets at Roland Garros. “Got myself on the court about 10 days ago, started practicing on grass.
“Right now I think I’m also 100 percent prepared.”
Roger Federer and Andy Murray, two of Djokovic’s main rivals at the All England Club, both won grasscourt tournaments in the buildup to Wimbledon. But Djokovic has not played a competitive match since facing Wawrinka in Paris.
“It’s not of my concern, honestly. I just want to get myself in a best possible shape,” Djokovic said Sunday. “I’m aware of the adjustment that is required movement-wise, game-wise, and also mentally for the grasscourts coming from clay courts.”
Despite Wawrinka’s win over Djokovic this month, it’s the 28-year-old Serb who remains the favourite at Wimbledon.
Djokovic is 41-3 this year and has twice won the title at the All England Club, including last year’s five-set victory over Federer. But he will have a tough opening match against Philipp Kohlschreiber, a 31-year-old German who has beaten Djokovic once in seven matches.
“Hopefully tomorrow when I get on the court I’ll be able to perform my best because that’s something that is going to be very much needed in order to win against Kohlschreiber,” said Djokovic, the Australian Open champion. “It’s one of the toughest first rounds I could get. But this is Grand Slam. This is what it takes.”
