Novak Djokovic admits that it would have been ideal if he played some matches on the grass leading up to Wimbledon but he was too ‘physically exhausted’ to do so.
Djokovic began his campaign at the Grand Slam on Monday with a straight sets win over Pedro Cachin in what was an unusual match. The encounter was the first time he had played on the Tour since claiming a historic 23rd major title at the French Open.
“It was a solid performance. I know I can always play better, but at the same time after a long clay court season, coming into Wimbledon without any tournament preparation, lead-up events, or any official match on grass, it was kind of expected I still would probably not be in my 100% of the level of my tennis.” Djokovic commented.
Instead of playing, the Serbian recently took some time off the Tour by visiting the Azores which is an autonomous region of Portugal. He and his wife Jelena spent some ‘quality time’ together and went on hikes around the island. Djokovic says he chose the region because he needed to ‘isolate for a bit’ away from the limelight.
“I had a pretty active recovery but still mentally felt refreshed when I came back,” he said. “It was never in the plan if I would go to reach the final stages of Roland Garros that I would play any grass court event. I haven’t done that in the last I think four years, and before that as well.”
It is hard to fault Djokovic’s preparation for Wimbledon considering his record. Incredibly he has won six out of his seven Wimbledon trophies during seasons where he has played no warm-up tournaments on the grass. Something that has only been achieved by six other men in the Open Era.
Given this success, the question now is should the 36-year-old continue this approach or will he change it in the future?
“I just felt that it’s probably better for me to take an extra week of training to get used to the grass, the movement, the specifics of grass court tennis, what it requires from the player. Different tactics, different game style,” he explains.
“Ideally you want to play one or two or three official matches. But it’s just too short of a time. I was too exhausted physically, and emotionally and I needed to regroup.’
“This has worked for the last four years. No reason to believe it cannot work again.”
Should Djokovic win Wimbledon, he would become only the second man in history to have won the first three Grand Slam titles of a season multiple times. The first was Rod Laver who did so in 1962 and 1969.
