"No player could be in this situation" - Novak Djokovic's 'rapid' injury recovery before Wimbledon 2024 'surprises' Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert

Novak Djokovic's quick recuperation from knee surgery right before the commencement of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships surprised Coco Gauff's coach, Brad Gilbert. He said that no other player could have bounced back so rapidly.

Before beginning his campaign at the Grasscourt Major, during the fourth round at the 2024 French Open, Djokovic tore the medial meniscus in his right knee, which then forced him to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against Casper Ruud. Due to this injury, the Serb underwent a surgery in early June and followed it with rehabilitation, physical therapy, and training to prepare for Wimbledon.

Novak Djokovic was seeded second in the tournament and began his campaign at SW19 by defeating qualifier Vit Kopriva and wildcard Jacob Fearnley in the first and second rounds, respectively. He then triumphed over Alexei Popyrin in the third round and Holger Rune in the fourth.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion then received a walkover to the semifinals after his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur withdrew from the tournament due to a hip injury and overcame Lorenzo Musetti in the final four to move to the championship match.

However, the seven-time Wimbledon winner fell short, losing 2-6, 2-6, 6-7(4) to third seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Recently while speaking to CLAY, Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert stated that Novak Djokovic played "incredible" tennis at the Wimbledon Championships considering he had his knee surgery just five weeks prior to the tournament.

Gilbert revealed that he had watched the Serb during the training week at SW19 and saw him improve a little bit every day. He said that what "surprised" him the most was that no other player could have recovered from the surgery so quickly and make such a brilliant comeback on the court.

"I would focus on his tennis. His tennis is incredible, considering that he has only been operated on for five weeks. During the whole week of training I have seen him improve a little bit every day. Almost no player could be in this situation with the rapid change that the operation has brought about. That is the most surprising thing," Gilbert said (translated from Spanish).

Novak Djokovic on recovering from knee surgery: "I was not reckless on any day, never pushed anything"

Novak Djokovic

During a press conference at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Novak Djokovic had said that following his knee surgery, he was determined to make it to the Grasscourt Major.

The Serb stated that he focused on his training and rehabilitation with his medical team and put in extra effort to ensure that he was in his best condition for Wimbledon.

"I was really focused on trying to make Wimbledon happen for me this year and I was not reckless on any day. I never pushed anything. So once we started rehab I followed every single day everything that they said that I have to do. I did even more than that, in terms of trying to make an effort for Wimbledon to come back," he said.

Looking ahead, Djokovic will next compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This will be his fifth appearance at the Games where he will represent Serbia alongside Dusan Lajovic.