ATP Tour

Djokovic has 'higher dose of confidence' ahead of Wimbledon bid

Novak Djokovic has long maintained that Wimbledon represents his best opportunity to capture a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

Having not competed since his five-set defeat to Joao Fonseca in the third round of Roland Garros, the 39-year-old arrived back at the grass-court major in London with that same belief seemingly intact. The seven-time Wimbledon champion, who spoke to the media during his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday, has no shortage of motivation as he begins another record-extending title pursuit.

“I think it is different in terms of my overall physical state. I think I'm better prepared here than I was for Roland Garros,” Djokovic, the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, said. “Obviously playing on grass, compared to clay, you don't need to exert as much physical effort. So that's better for me.

“I always loved playing on grass. I have a very good score here, history, in Wimbledon. That gives me a higher dose of confidence coming into the tournament.”

Djokovic may be making his first tour-level appearance on grass since reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals last year, when he was stopped by eventual champion Jannik Sinner, but the Serbian believes he arrives as prepared as possible. Encouraged by the level he produced in his Roland Garros defeat to the 20-years-younger Fonseca, Djokovic feels Wimbledon offers the ideal stage to launch his response.

A shoulder injury has disrupted much of Djokovic's 2026 season, limiting him to just three tour-level events since reaching the Australian Open final in January. Back at the All England Club for his 21st Wimbledon appearance, the Serbian reflected on both his recovery and his physical condition.

“Roland Garros was physically very draining, demanding,” Djokovic said. “Three matches that I played, all of them went almost four hours. But I'm proud of the effort. I lost in the third round against a 20-years-younger opponent, fought until the end in five sets, almost four and whatever hours that we played. Maybe not the result I was looking for, but the effort was there.

“Anyway, I was planning to peak at Wimbledon after the injury of the shoulder that kind of kept me away from the Tour for several months. I knew not having any matches, official matches on the tour, going pretty much straight into Roland Garros, is going to be quite difficult. Maybe too big of a challenge for me at the moment. That's what happened.”

Although Djokovic joked that he hoped to be a ‘good enough sparring partner’ for Sinner when the pair practised together on No. 1 Court on Thursday, there will be little room for humour once the main draw gets underway. With both men placed in the top half of the draw, Djokovic could set up a semi-final rematch with the World No. 1 for the second consecutive year.

Djokovic will begin his latest Wimbledon campaign against China's Wu Yibing in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The 26-year-old Wu, whose career has been hampered by a series of injuries, is set to make just his second main-draw appearance at the Championships, and his first since 2023.