Novak Djokovic, who has recently regained his number 2 ranking in the world, continued his fight against time to participate in Wimbledon, exercising on Monday for two hours with Argentine Fede Coria. Despite undergoing meniscus surgery 19 days ago, after injuring his knee in his victory over Francisco Cerúndolo at Roland Garros, Djokovic appeared a few days later on a stationary bike and later practiced on a hard court, showing his determination to play at Wimbledon.
On Monday, Djokovic returned to the All England Club, where he trained with Coria, number 71 in the world, for two hours. The Serbian wore protection on his knee and forearm, and twice needed massages from his physical trainer on his wrist and forearm, but he still managed to complete the training session without any major issues.
During the first hour, the two players took part in 10-minute exchanges, followed by breaks of about five minutes, to avoid overloading Djokovic. The pace of training increased in the second hour, during which they played two tie breaks. Djokovic won the first 8-6, after overcoming a 2-6 deficit, while Coria won the second 9-7.
Before starting practice, Djokovic met with Carlos Alcaraz, his executioner in last year’s final, in the Aorangi warm-up area. After greeting and hugging, they had a small talk in which Djokovic said he was “testing himself” these days. Alcaraz also trained on Monday, alongside Stan Wawrinka, and beat him twice, 6-4 and 6-4, in a set that they started at 2-2 to speed up.
