Novak Djokovic Makes Feelings Known on Emma Raducanu’s Return to Form: “Quality of Tennis is Unquestionable”

Novak Djokovic won’t be competing in warm-up tournaments on grass before Wimbledon, the main draw of which starts on June 29. The Serb, in fact, was in Barcelona and made headlines for a different sport when he attended the Formula 1 Grand Prix and waved the checkered flag at the end of the race won by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

And during his time in Barcelona, Sky Sports asked him about Emma Raducanu‘s return to form. Raducanu reached her career’s third final at the Queen’s Club Championships but couldn’t end her title drought as Donna Vekic clinched a 6-0, 7-6(6) win.

I’ve followed that, and wish her the best of luck. She’s a great person, a great girl. I really hope she can stay injury-free because the quality of tennis is unquestionable for her. She is a Grand Slam champion; she has that inside. She has the British support behind her for Wimbledon, so hopefully she can have a great one.

Novak Djokovic said

The Brit was greatly disappointed when she crashed out of the first round of the French Open with a straight-set defeat to Solana Sierra. And ahead of the Queen’s, she added her former coach, Andrew Richardson, to her entourage again.

This is the second time this year that Raducanu reached the final. Back in February, she lost the Transylvania Open to Sorana Cirstea. It was her first final since her fairytale run at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu will next be competing at the Nottingham Open. She will kick off her campaign against former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova.

Last year, after Queen’s, she played the Eastbourne International and lost to Maya Joint in the second round. At Wimbledon then, Raducanu’s run was ended by four-time Grand Slam singles champion Aryna Sabalenka in the third round. The 23-year-old has made the fourth round of Wimbledon twice but has never reached the quarterfinals.

Mats Wilander on why Novak Djokovic will be more dangerous at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic did not have a great campaign at the French Open. In spite of a 2-0 lead, he lost his third-round match to Joao Fonseca. But at Wimbledon, Mats Wilander believes, Djokovic has a better chance to end his Grand Slam title drought.

In Paris, he lost to a great Fonseca, but Wimbledon is the Grand Slam where he has the best chance to win and finally reach the record of 25 Grand Slams, which has almost become an obsession. On grass, the gap with Sinner narrows, and it is also a matter of statistics: on clay, there are between 10 and 20 opponents who can defeat him; on the grass of London, the number is reduced to five.

Mats Wilander told La Gazzetta dello Sport

Djokovic is a seven-time champion in the grass-court Major, last winning in 2022 by defeating Nick Kyrgios. He made the final in 2023 and 2024 as well, but lost both times to Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard, in fact, ruined his Calendar Grand Slam goal in 2023. Last year, eventual champion Jannik Sinner beat the 39-year-old in the semifinals.

Djokovic has already played a final this season. It was at the Australian Open that Nole, after beating Sinner in the semifinals, lost to Alcaraz in the title clash, reaching a Major final for the first time since the 2024 Wimbledon.

Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament as he is recovering from a wrist injury he suffered during the Barcelona Open. In Alcaraz’s absence, another player, even though he has never made the quarterfinals here, will be one of the favorites to win. And it’s Alexander Zverev, who recently ended his Grand Slam title drought by defeating Flavio Cobolli at the French Open.

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