Novak Djokovic: "Luckily for me, I've had only one significant injury that kept me out of the circuit for almost a year"

Novak Djokovic is happy to have stayed relatively injury-free throughout his career, which has helped him stay at the top of the sport for so long.

Compared to the likes of his Big-3 rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic has suffered relatively few major injuries to date. Since making his Grand Slam debut at the 2005 Australian Open, he has missed just the 2017 US Open through injury concerns.

The COVID-19 pandemic and his refusal to get vaccinated against the virus resulted in him missing two other Majors, the Australian Open and US Open last year.

The only time he was troubled by an injury for a long period of time was in 2018 when he admitted that his right elbow was causing an issue. He underwent surgery on the joint that year, which has seemingly addressed the issue.

Reflecting on his relatively injury-free career, Djokovic acknowledged that it has helped him stay competitive despite his advancing years.

"Luckily for me, I've had only one significant injury that kept me out of the circuit for almost a year on and off with the surgery of the elbow. Other than that, there was some muscle tears and injuries, but generally I've kept healthy, considering the intensity of my career and the amount of matches I've played in the last 20 years," he said at a press conference.

Djokovic further said that he has worked on his flexibility since his formative years.

"Tennis is a sport that is quite complex in this way. It requires a player to have really a great balance, an optimal balance, between all these traits, so to say, physical traits. Then again, we are all different. We all have different body types," he said.

"I always have worked a lot on my flexibility, since a young age," he added. "I was taught this was extremely important because that's going to give me longevity. Focusing a lot and doing a lot on prevention."

The 23-time Grand Slam champion also stated a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure she stays in the best possible physical shape.

"Just before I get on the practice court, there's a lot of work that goes into it, a few hours of work before I actually get to the training court. That helps me. It helps extend my career. It helps me still compete at the highest level," he explained.

"It helps me prevent any - God forbid - injuries or anything like that. It's kind of if you see other players at that age and stage, it's kind of expected to have a major injury later in your career just because of the wear and tear of the body," he added.

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Novak Djokovic through to Wimbledon 2023 Round of 16, to face Hubert Hurkacz next

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Novak Djokovic emerged victorious against Stan Wawrinka in the clash of the Gland Slam champions at Wimbledon 2023.

The two veterans locked horns in a third-round contest on Friday, July 7. Djokovic was largely untroubled throughout the contest, as he emerged victorious 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(5) by 10:45 pm local time, thereby avoiding the 11 pm curfew and the possibility of finishing the match on Saturday.

After the win, the Serbian was all praise for Wawrinka, hailing the 38-year-old for still going strong in a field that's dominated by youngsters.

"I have to say that it's amazing what Stan is doing. Still his age, after several surgeries. We are two old guys fighting with the young guns, I think it's important to acknowledge that. He was forced to drop [in] the rankings in the last couple of years [and is] trying to build his ranking," he said in his on-court interview.

Djokovic will next face 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 in his third-round contest.