Novak Djokovic might not have been considered as the outright favorite to win Wimbledon 2024 until a few days ago, but he could be right up there in the list now. Remarkably, Djokovic himself has conceded that he is not 100% fit and yet, he could at least make it to the semifinals with not much difficulty. This is because Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, the World No.7, retired hurt from his Round of 64 match after injuring his knee against Frenchman Arthur Fils.
Now, Hurkacz was considered widely as the man who could have taken on Djokovic in the quarterfinals because they were drawn in the same quarter. The Polish star has this reputation of defeating the biggest of names on his day and on Centre Court, he is best known for having defeated Roger Federer in his last-ever Wimbledon match back in 2021. So Djokovic would have really been tested against Hurkacz.
To top it all, Brit wildcard Jacob Fearnley stretched Djokovic to 4 sets in the second round and after the match, the 7-time Wimbledon champion admitted that he is still not 100% fit when it comes to the dodgy knee which has been plaguing him for almost a month now.
While it will still not be a cakewalk for Novak Djokovic going ahead, he would prefer facing 9th seed Alex de Minaur over Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals. de Minaur is considered the favorite now to make it to that stage, after he too received a walkover against Lucas Pouille in the third round.
But against Djokovic, de Minaur on grass is not that thrilling a prospect. Which is why all the Serb has to do is beat Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the third round and possibly, Holger Rune in the fourth round. For Rune too, grass is not a surface he prefers playing on and is as skilled on it as compared to clay and hard. And with his experience, Djokovic could have a massive advantage in the fourth round too.
In a sense, Djokovic’s road to potentially another Wimbledon final has become clearer. Many tennis enthusiasts and analysts are also considering Nole lucky as the likes of Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who were in Djokovic’s half and in the top 10 seeds, have crashed out early as well.
Some fans would be concerned that Djokovic dropped his first set in the second round of a Wimbledon tournament since 2014. But it was essential for him to play a tough match to get back his much-needed magical touch.
