Novak Djokovic has some big decisions to make ahead of Wimbledon this year.
Djokovic lost in the third round of Roland Garros to Joao Fonseca, which was his earliest defeat at the Paris major since 2009.
This was just the fourth tournament that he has played this year, as Djokovic struggled with a shoulder issue during the clay court season.
As Djokovic looks to win Wimbledon this year, he has been advised to make a rare decision ahead of the grass court major.
Steve Flink tells Novak Djokovic to play tournament before Wimbledon
Djokovic is not scheduled to play any grass court tournaments prior to Wimbledon this year, and he has not done so since 2018.
However, Tennis Hall of Fame tennis journalist Steve Flink believes Djokovic should request a wildcard for either Queen’s or the Halle Open this year due to the lack of matches he has competed in recently.
“I don’t know what his plans are, I hope that maybe he’ll change his mind or decide, whichever it is, to get into one grass court tournament,” Flink said on the Tennis and Bagels Podcast. “There’s still time to take a wildcard somewhere, I’d like to see him play at a Queen’s or a Halle, whichever one he wants to play, I don’t think it matters.
“I think the matches at this point would do him a lot of good, because normally he’s getting to the semis of the French or the finals or winning it, and so therefore he’s got all those extra matches in the locker, grass court preparation doesn’t matter. This year, I think it would help him greatly.
“But I think he can take some positives away, because…that was maybe the best match he [Fonseca] has played in a lot of ways and Novak knows that, and as he started to recollect the match right after and go back over these various junctures and go over these various junctures like 3-1 in the fifth and 3-4, 15-40 in the fourth and he gave him a lot of credit for the way Fonseca stepped up. So I think his level was really quite high, Djokovic’s, and higher than it had been in his previous two matches which were four set wins.
“I do think he got something out of the tournament by playing three matches, I just think he could use some more. And I still think, look there’s no [Carlos] Alcaraz at Wimbledon…look at the last three years, he [Djokovic] loses to Carlos in two finals and then he loses to [Jannik] Sinner in the semis when he wasn’t in very good physical shape, but they were the only guys beating him and he’s won the tournament seven times.
“Now he goes back and there’s no Alcaraz, and we don’t fully know what to expect from Sinner given this latest episode, you never know. It’s a tricky time for him, he’s still the favourite, but I think Novak can go there feeling like ‘Okay, I’ve got to navigate the early rounds, I’ve got to be efficient in the early rounds and not tax myself so much’, and he’ll feel like he has got a decent shot to win that tournament.”
Who is the biggest talent on the ATP Tour? 🌟
What happened the last time Novak Djokovic played a warm-up tournament before Wimbledon?
The last time Djokovic played a warm-up tournament prior to Wimbledon was in 2018, when he competed at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Djokovic would reach the final of Queen’s that year, where he lost to Marin Cilic, before going on to win Wimbledon.
At the time, this was Djokovic’s first major title in nearly two years, having undergone elbow surgery during this time.
Djokovic clearly benefited from playing at Queen’s, but since then he has also won three Wimbledon titles without playing any tournaments prior.
Novak Djokovic or Tiger Woods… who is the better sportsman? 🤔
At 39 years old, Djokovic’s body has become more susceptible to injuries in recent years and he has played a much lighter schedule.
The wildcards for the Halle Open have already been announced, so Djokovic would only be able to play Queen’s if he requests a wildcard to compete next week.
