Novak Djokovic heads into Sunday’s Olympic final with injury doubts still hanging over his head.
Djokovic has worn a knee brace ever since undergoing surgery before Wimbledon, which he rushed back from to play in London.
The Serbian’s progress since going under the knife has been rather remarkable, given the extent of his knee problem.
However, in the Wimbledon final, where he was dominated by Carlos Alcaraz, and at the Olympics, when he struggled past Stefanos Tsitsipas, there were signs that Djokovic was still carrying a problem.
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In his match against Tsitsipas in the quarter-final Djokovic looked particularly troubled and he admitted he was ‘very worried’ about the problem after the match.
But the 37-year-old appeared to be back to his best in the semi-final against Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic fought through a tough opening set to take a lead in the match and from then on he never looked back as he secured a relatively comfortable victory over the in-form Italian.
The world number two has now set up a tantalising final against Alcaraz on Sunday, as he looks to win his first gold medal.
And Djokovic certainly seemed positive about his fitness in his press conference after the match.
“I did tests, which were positive, they did not show that the injury was more serious,” he revealed
“We did therapy until late at night, it was fine when I woke up. I tested my knees. I spent a lot of time working with Miljan, my physiotherapist I didn’t feel pain in the match, everything was great and I’m glad that I overcame a big obstacle in my Olympic career, I lost four semi-finals, I’m very happy that I won a medal for Serbia week, but this is also a great success.”
Djokovic vs Alcaraz’s head to head record
Of course, Djokovic will go into the final playing the underdog, which has been a rarity throughout his career.
The last time Djokovic met Alcaraz he was comprehensively beaten in the Wimbledon final, but the 24 time grand slam champion has confirmed that his injury actually feels better now than he did on that occasion.
Djokovic will certainly need to be at his very best if he is to get past the Spaniard, who is in red hot form.
Alcaraz is unbeaten in his last 12 matches on clay, after scooping the Roland Garros title earlier this year.
Djokovic can take some heart in the fact that the last time the pair met in the French capital it was him who came out on top, though.
In that contest, back in 2023, Alcaraz suffered badly with cramp, which stopped him reaching his top level, but Djokovic did come through in four sets.
Overall, the pair have now met six times, with both of them winning on three occasions.
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