‘Novak Djokovic is practicing once again.’ These words are music to the ears of tennis fans worldwide, who have long awaited the return of the Serb to the courts. After an extended hiatus, Djokovic had expressed his burning desire to make his comeback, and it seems the dreams of both the fans and the tennis legend are about to be realized.

In a video shared by Eurosport which is now going viral, the tennis legend can be seen practicing on courts in blue attire. While it might be wrong to say that he is looking in complete form, he seems to be trying really hard to make himself fit ahead of Wimbledon. This Wimbledon is also crucial because of the fact that winning this will help him equate to Roger Federer, in terms of Wimbledon wins, and help him gain his 25th Grand Slam title. Meanwhile, his return in less than 3-weeks is a surprise for many. 

Novak Djokovic has been out of the courts since his campaign at Roland Garros. After winning over Francis Cerundolo in the fourth round, the 37-year-old decided to withdraw from the tournament following a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. He announced his decision and went for surgery on June 5. His injury has since then raised doubts over his comeback ahead of Wimbledon. However, in a major surprise, the Serb is now hitting the courts again. 

Veteran tennis writer Craig Shapiro dropped a social media bomb on Wednesday, revealing Novak Djokovic is “pushing hard to play Wimbledon.” “Reliable sources telling me Novak hit today for the first time since the knee procedure and is pushing hard to play Wimbledon. Let’s see,” tweeted Craig. The prestigious tournament starts July 1st, and with Djokovic’s recent injury, this news has tennis fans on the edge of their seats.

According to general medical practices, it usually takes 3 to 6 months for a meniscus to be fully cured. Adding to the uncertainty, the doctor who operated Nole, Antoana Geromete, also stated that it would take longer for the tennis legend to make a comeback than what the fans are accepting. Jimmy Connors too had resonated similar sentiments.

“Wimbledon, you know, that’s three weeks away, that’s, you know, that if he’s (Novak Djokovic), if he’s back for that, that’s, that’s going to be a pretty unbelievable feeling of getting back that quickly.” The tennis pro had faced similar injury in the past and explained that it takes time to heal. Meanwhile, as Nole prepares a return, the frenzy of his sponsors has left them red-faced.

“I have to apologize..” Novak Djokovic’s sponsor left red-faced over a silly mistake 

One of the sponsors of Nole, Lacoste, made a mistake that left them red-faced. The company accidentally misquoted the number of titles that the Serb has won, after which they were forced to apologize.

In a serious mistake, the company listed a tracksuit for sale to their American audience to commemorate Djokovic’s 25th title. But without the on-court history being made to accompany the new article of clothing, Lacoste was left red-faced and forced to remove the tracksuit from their website, before issuing an apology.

“I have to apologize about that. It was a mistake on our side due to IT issues,” Lacoste CEO Thierry Guibert wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) when he was made aware of the error. Meanwhile, it will be interesting for Nole to see if he can make a comeback ahead of Wimbledon to defy all odds and participate in the mega event.