Thirty-nine days after undergoing surgery on his right knee, Novak Djokovic will play the Wimbledon final in search of a record 25th grand-slam title. So preposterous was this notion in the immediate aftermath of his operation that his wife Jelena questioned whether it was wise to rush back on the grass.
Djokovic has a habit of defying belief throughout his extraordinary career but this recovery may be his finest. When the 37-year-old revealed on social media that he had gone under the knife to treat a tear of the meniscus — a piece of cartilage in the knee that acts as a shock absorber — the general consensus was that he would likely skip Wimbledon and focus on returning to full fitness for a shot