"He was very kind"- Novak Djokovic credits Taylor Fritz for helping him out with his knee injury, allowing him Wimbledon participation

Novak Djokovic recently revealed he reached out to Taylor Fritz to seek advice for a speedy recovery from the meniscus tear in his right knee. The Serb suffered the injury during his marathon battle against Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round of the 2024 French Open.

Djokovic slipped on the dirt during the matchup at Roland Garros and tore the muscle in his knees. He carried through the proceedings regardless and emerged victorious, but soon announced his withdrawal from the tournament after scans revealed the tear.

The 37-year-old went under the knife casting doubts over his participation in the Wimbledon Championships about to begin in a few weeks time then.

As things stand, however, he's set to get the ball rolling against Vit Kopriva in the first round of the London Major after making the unlikely recovery.

In a recent interview following a practice session on the grass, the Serb credited his American colleague Taylor Fritz for helping him during the tricky phase. Fritz notably faced similar complications after tearing his meniscus in the knee during the 2021 French Open.

"Taylor Fritz! Three years ago he had pretty much same situation. Actually, I had probably like four, five days more than him. So, he was the first person I reached out to when I found out that he had similar injury and circumstance," the 24-time Grand Slam champion said to press at the Hurlingham Classic.

Djokovic continued:

"He was very kind to share his journey and really helped out with some of the experiences and advices, you know, how to approach it because it’s the first time I had this kind of a knee injury."

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Novak Djokovic: "Stan Wawrinka, Lindsay Vonn, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, I asked everyone"

Novak Djokovic practices at Wimbledon. (Getty)

During the same interview, it surfaced that Novak Djokovic approached colleague Stan Wawrinka, former alpine ski racer Lindsay Vonn, and ex-footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic as well for their counsel on the knee issue.

"I asked many athletes, you know, Stan Wawrinka, Lindsay Vonn, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, I asked everyone. They were all very kind to share some of their experiences," he said.

The World No. 2 practiced against Russia's Daniil Medvedev at the Hurlingham Club in London on Friday, June 28, ahead of Wimbledon. He defeated Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 to prove his readiness for the competition.

Djokovic is notably a seven-time champion at Wimbledon. This year, he has the opportunity to match Roger Federer's record of winning eight titles on Centre Court. He failed to level the tally last year as he faltered against Carlos Alcaraz in the final.