Novak Djokovic decided to have meniscus surgery this Wednesday morning in Paris

Hood_Man

G.O.A.T.
When it comes to the Olympics the stats don't matter.

Pete Sampras doesn't have an Olympic medal but then he never seemed to care about it.

Rafa, Federer, and Murray have them and they were desperate for them.

Novak clearly wants one too and if he never wins one he'll regret it, like Federer regrets Wimbledon 2019, or how Murray will regret all those slam final losses, or how Nadal might regret being surprised by Djokovic in 2011 when it looked like the Nadal era was finally about to begin.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I had meniscus surgery in my mid-50s. They always say 2-3 weeks to return but I didn't feel good enough to start practicing very slowly (like 30 minutes light workout) until 8 weeks. I played a competitive doubles match at 12 weeks out. I did the rehab exercises daily. Granted, I am not a world class athlete but 3 weeks is a very optimistic timeline and I don't think it is you are 100% recovered in 3 weeks. It is more like you can play in 3 weeks but expect swelling afterward, some weakness in the knee and limited range of motion until fully recovered.
It depends on whether they did repair or just trimmed the tear (meniscectomy) and debridement. I had the second which is less complex to recover from. I played doubles exactly 28 days later, singles another 10 days later and had full recovery so that I could play daily tennis within a couple of months. From Saza’s tweet, it looked like they did a meniscectomy on him and so he has a shot to play in the Olympics. He plays poorly in the Olympics anyway as the pressure seems to get to him. So, I don’t expect good results. Hope he is ready to do well at the USO.
 
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Gary Duane

Talk Tennis Guru
Yes, these were the rumors I was speaking about yesterday, that Djokovic won't be playing Wimbledon this year.

Didn't know he it was surgery related, but I heard he was skipping Wimbledon.
And this guy is totally on top of things. Either he's going to heal and he'll be back again, or this is the end of the line. But he's rolling a dice and I applaud that.
 

geromino

Rookie
When it comes to the Olympics the stats don't matter.

Pete Sampras doesn't have an Olympic medal but then he never seemed to care about it.

Rafa, Federer, and Murray have them and they were desperate for them.

Novak clearly wants one too and if he never wins one he'll regret it, like Federer regrets Wimbledon 2019, or how Murray will regret all those slam final losses, or how Nadal might regret being surprised by Djokovic in 2011 when it looked like the Nadal era was finally about to begin.
Djokovic already has an Olympic medal. Though none of them should care about it. 0 prize money and 0 ranking points; it's clear where this tournament stands in importance in tennis.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
From a well informed insider:


SK: Good news after Novak's operation!
ROLAND GARROS Author: Saša Ozmo June 5, 2024 15:13

Novak Djokovic underwent an operation in Paris, everything was done as it should be, and the operation accelerated his recovery, Sport Club learns.

During the arthroscopy, it was determined that it is not a severe variant of the meniscus injury of the right knee, but one that does not require such a long rehabilitation.

Recovery should last about three weeks, but it will also depend on other factors, ie, the development of the rehabilitation itself.

We will see how Novak's thinking will proceed, but there is little chance that he will play at Wimbledon without any preparation. However, participation in the Olympic Games, which begin on July 27, now seems much more realistic.
This is great that he decided to do surgery right away and it sounds like it was a meniscectomy and not repair which is the only scenario where he could play in the Olympics. I don’t think he will do well anyway as he doesn’t deal well with the stress of playing for Serbia in the Olympics even in his heyday and it is too much to expect good results so soon after surgery. But I guess he desperately wants to play and will rehab accordingly. The Paris clay courts will be even more dry/slippery in the height of summer and I hope he doesn‘t have more slips/falls. It would be more prudent to miss the Olympics, but he won’t do that.

There are some in this thread saying that he chose whether he did a trim or repair. Generally the surgeon decides and they might make the decision only after seeing clearly the situation through the arthroscope and not only from the MRI. I don’t think they will be consulting with the patient about that during the procedure. From the fact that he played well with painkillers at the end of the Cerundolo match, it was likely a small tear at the edge and so they could just do a trim of it.

Hope he is back in top form by the USO as I would like him in the mix for winning Slams in 2025 rather than watching only a Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly.
 

Tano

Hall of Fame
He was extraordinarily proactive / efficient about it, which is a positive. Seems like the target is the Olympics and trying to maximise chances of recovery.
Indeed, Djokovic's great goal of the season was and continues to be to fight for that gold medal for his country that he longs for.
 

Juice4080

Semi-Pro
I don’t know mechanics of knees but I do follow basketball and whenever a guy does this they always say it was the wrong decision and come back worse

Robert Williams III being an example. Did that 2 years ago when the Celtics made a deep playoffs run and he hasn't played much since
 

Tano

Hall of Fame
Olympics Tennis starts in 7 weeks. On July 27.

He has to win 6 matches in 8 days to win Gold. That is not happening.
Think the matches are Best Of Three. And Final might be Best O Five. In any case, Olympic Gold is not happening.

Unlike GS tournaments, where very few of his rivals can still beat him, the task will be easier in Paris, as they only need two out of three sets.
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Wishing Novak the best in the recovery phase. He has proven he has the strengths to come back even better from this. He wowed us in Paris with two of the most impressive wins of his career and I’m sure there is more great tennis ahead for him.
 

Cortana

Legend
Too bad he can‘t play Wimbledon. Might have been his last realistic chance of getting a 8th title there.
 

Tano

Hall of Fame
Very surprised to see him opt immediately for surgery. Is it lessons learnt from the elbow issue or this is a smaller procedure. I really hope he plays the Olympics for his sake, last shot for him. Ideally rest and show up at USO and go all in for 25, perfect ending. I want 25 slams and 5 at USO.
The US Open is the Major tournament of the four where there is the most competition.
I think Djokovic could lose being seeded top 2 and would have to face both Sinner and Alcaraz to retain his title at an advanced age, something he did not achieve in his prime.
 
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