Novak Djokovic: ”I am not fan of surgeries and knife, but it was inevitable”

Novak Djokovic explained why it took so much to take the decision to undergo elbow surgery earlier this year in February near Basel, Switzerland, which his then coach Andre Agassi had suggested him to do in July 2017 when he ended his season. “I am not a fan of surgeries and knife”, Djokovic explained. “I know that in certain situations it is simply necessary and inevitable but I have tried in every way possible to avoid that. And then when I took my break in July 2017. After Wimbledon when I forfeited my quarter-final match I left the court. After a situation that is so painful and after losing the match, the way I ended my tournament leaves a bad feeling in my mouth, a feeling of dread in my chest and I am not a good company in those moments. But, in a way, I felt a massive relief and weight load fall of my back. Because deep down I knew that that moment was coming sooner or later and that it had to happen. Then when it finally did happen, when I was unable to hold a racquet in my hands then I realized that I was facing several months long break, for how long I did not know. They told me that I could maybe go back to tournaments after three months but I decided to take six months away from tournaments. Simply because I needed a little break and to recharge my batteries, emotionally and a little bit mentally. I needed a somewhat new start. I have then visited the best orthopaedics in North America and around the world, and from Serbia of course. Everyone advised me that the surgery was not necessary.”

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