“End of an era” – Tennis legends ‘shocked’ about Novak Djokovic’s injury as they expect him to bounce back soon

Mats Wilander, Alex Corretja and Tim Henman gave their take on Djokovic's current situation.

“End of an era” – Tennis legends ‘shocked’ about Novak Djokovic’s injury as they expect him to bounce back soon

Novak Djokovic (via Imago)

Novak Djokovic‘s withdrawal from the French Open has left the tennis world shocked. His unbelievable wins against Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo led fans to believe that he would win his 25th Grand Slam title, but that won’t be the case at the ongoing clay Grand Slam.

These matches took a toll on Djokovic‘s knee and he was forced to pull out of the tournament and also schedule immediate surgery, which is concerning. The surgery will likely keep him out of the Wimbledon and Olympics action, which is something he was looking forward to. Rafael Nadal has also all but confirmed his retirement from tennis this year and this leaves many former pros suggesting that it may well be the end of the Big 3 era. 

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Mats Wilander, too, thinks that era is coming to an end but is optimistic about both these legends hanging on for just a little longer, as Nadal suggested that he would be back in Roland Garros next year and Djokovic’s fitness was never in question before he suffered the knee injury.

FS Video
It’s starting to become the end of an era--You watch Rafa [Nadal] play here and what he said afterwards, and he’s still keen to play more. We know Novak is keen to play for a couple more years. Hopefully, he can get back. Wimbledon is important, but the Olympics is way more important for Novak Djokovic. That’s what he has to get ready for.
Mats Wilander to Eurosport

Former World No.2, Alex Corretja, and former World No.4, Tim Henman, also chimed in on this discussion, presenting their opinions on the matter. 

We agree that having those back-to-back matches affected everything; his body, his knee. That slide that he did provoked it a little bit more. Now, there’s no time to blame anyone. It happens, it’s tennis. He needs to recover, and that’s the most important thing. I wish him the best of luck, always.
Alex Corretja said
It came as a huge shock to me but then when you hear that there may be a tear in the meniscus – that’s a serious injury, so it’s hugely disappointing for Djokovic.--For me, I felt like this was precautionary chat. I very much expected him to bounce back as we’ve seen so many times.
Tim Henman added

Although they wish to see the Serb back in Wimbledon, it seems unlikely given the physical situation he is in and the recovery time it would take for him to be back to normal. 

Novak Djokovic’s concerning injury hinders his chances at the Olympics

The Olympic Gold has been the only coveted prize in the tennis world that had eluded Novak Djokovic his entire career. Coming into 2024 with an unbelievable 2023 season, the Paris Olympics this year would be Djokovic’s best and last shot at securing the one piece of silverware that he still hadn’t.

Novak Djokovic (Via Imago)

Despite having a less-than-mediocre season so far, Djokovic reached the quarterfinal of the French Open in Paris, which is where the Olympics will be held. However, the effort required to do so broke him physically and he tore a meniscus. 

This called for a surgery, and the Serb is scheduled to undergo it soon. It will require weeks, if not months, of rehabilitation and recovery if he is to play tennis at his best again. This means that he may have to let go of probably his last-ever chance to win the gold medal for his country at the Olympics.

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