Djokovic reveals a secret about Serena Williams, the “women’s tennis legend”

Veteran Serbian star Novak Djokovic expected that American women’s tennis legend Serena Williams would return to competition, saying that he was “excited to see one of the greatest female athletes” return to the courts.

Djokovic said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Indian Wells 1,000-point Masters tournament for men and the 1,000-point Masters tournament for women: “I think she will come back. I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to her, but the prevailing impression is that she will come back. Where and how, in singles or doubles, we don’t know. If I were in her place, I would keep the matter a secret as well.”

Serena, who is crowned with 23 Grand Slam titles, has not participated in any tournament since her loss in the third round of the US Open in 2022.

But last December, the 44-year-old mother of two returned to the anti-doping testing program and regained her eligibility to compete.

She initially denied her intention to return, but in January she declined to rule out the idea, telling NBC’s “Today” show: “It’s not a yes or no. I don’t know, I’ll see what happens.”

Djokovic, who also won 24 major tournament titles, indicated that male and female players are talking about the possibilities of her return, adding: “Everyone is excited, and this is definitely something that is awaited with great anticipation.”

Her older sister, Venus, who is 45 years old, received an invitation card to participate in the singles competitions in Indian Wells, where she will face Frenchwoman Diane Barry in the first round.

Djokovic suggested that Serena, who won the singles title seven times, would choose Wimbledon to mark her return to the yellow ball courts.

He said in this regard: “I also recommend Wimbledon for her return. I don’t know, but I think she might compete in one or two doubles tournaments with Venus. It would be nice to see that, both from my point of view and from the point of view of tennis fans.”

He added: “She is truly one of the greatest female athletes. It would be great to see her return as well.”

Djokovic, ranked third in Indian Wells, is playing his first participation since losing the Australian Open final to Spaniard Carlos Alcarras, after beating Italian Jannik Sinner, champion of the past two editions, in the semi-finals.

The 38-year-old said: “For me, it was an amazing result. I proved to myself first and to others that I can still compete at the highest level and win against these players (new stars).”

He continued: “My logic says: Why don’t I continue as long as I have enthusiasm, spark, quality and motivation? There are always goals and ambitions. You want to win, you want to win a new title and perhaps another Grand Slam title. I was close in Australia.”

Djokovic has five titles in Indian Wells, sharing the record with Swiss Roger Federer, but he has not reached the quarter-finals since his last coronation in 2016.

He will begin his campaign on Saturday by facing the winner between Frenchman Giovanni Mpiche Pericar and Polish Kamil Maiczak.