Nelson Morales

Tennis icons Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams. AFP photos

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Tennis icons Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams. 

Dyan Castillejo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782737908777Tennis-icons-Novak-Djokovic-and-Serena-06292026.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Tennis icons Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams. AFP photos"/>Tennis icons Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams. AFP photos </div>LONDON -- Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is set to begin his latest title bid as the tournament&#x27;s seventh seed, opening his campaign against China&#x27;s Yibing Wu.Speaking to media at the packed Theatre at Wimbledon before the tournament, Djokovic praised Serena Williams&#x27; return to competitive tennis.&quot;First and foremost, what she&#x27;s doing is inspirational and it&#x27;s epic,&quot; Djokovic said. &quot;I always admired her career, her journey, her story. Of course, Venus&#x27;, as well.&quot;<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/6/29/-this-could-be-it-serena-williams-all-set-for-wimbledon-return-1512" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ: Serena Williams all set for Wimbledon return</a></div>The Serbian highlighted the significance of Serena&#x27;s decision to return to the court years after stepping away from the tour.&quot;For her to come back after years of being absent from the tour, two children later, and to give so much effort to, not just for her own satisfaction or coming back on the tour, but also to give all of us a pleasure of seeing her back on the court—in singles as well as doubles—is remarkable,&quot; he said.Djokovic added that he has noticed the amount of work Serena has been putting in behind the scenes.&quot;I see her in the gym more than I have seen her when she was at her prime. It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#x27;s admirable, honestly, the effort she&#x27;s putting in.&quot;&quot;I just hope that she will enjoy because she really deserves. She created something historical, legendary in her career. She deserves every applause she&#x27;s going to get.&quot;Djokovic also reflected on the lasting impact of Serena and Venus Williams on the sport, saying their influence extends far beyond tennis.&quot;It&#x27;s truly inspiring, the way they were brought up, the way they grew up in a very challenging environment that was not necessarily very supportive of their tennis,&quot; he said.He praised the sisters&#x27; unwavering support for one another despite regularly facing each other in the sport&#x27;s biggest matches.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/6/29/tennis-serena-blasts-drug-test-rules-ahead-of-wimbledon-return-0058">READ: Serena blasts drug test rules ahead of Wimbledon return</a></div>&quot;I don&#x27;t honestly know how they managed to play versus each other in the finals of Grand Slams or any other tournament,&quot; Djokovic admitted. &quot;That&#x27;s also another aspect to it, of their greatness, is how professional and competitive they were against each other, but loving and supporting of each other, as well.&quot;Djokovic also noted how the Williams sisters transcended tennis through their influence in business, fashion, and popular culture.&quot;They&#x27;ve won everything you can possibly win in this sport,&quot; he said. &quot;They transcend tennis as well. They went into different areas of life with business, fashion. Just the impact on the youth in America and worldwide has been tremendous. So big fan of both of them.&quot;<div><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5vYp-qgHopk?&amp;pp=0gcJCU4LAYcqIYzv&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></div>Djokovic also commented on the unusually hot conditions during the lead-up to Wimbledon, saying the heat has noticeably affected the famous grass courts.&quot;This week has been one of the hottest weeks ever in my experience so far in 20-plus years in Wimbledon,&quot; Djokovic said.He explained that the high temperatures change how the surface and balls behave during play.&quot;When it&#x27;s very hot, the grass softens, the soil softens. It does affect the bounce that is lower. It can get quicker in terms of the surface bounce,&quot; he said.&quot;But the balls respond differently. The balls, when it&#x27;s very hot and humid, they get bigger, fluffier. That slows the game down.&quot;Players are pleased that the opening day temp is a hit cooler than what it was the last week in London.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is set to begin his latest title bid as the tournament's seventh seed, opening his campaign against China's Yibing Wu.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is set to begin his latest title bid as the tournament's seventh seed, opening his campaign against China's Yibing Wu.

'She's inspirational, epic': Djokovic on Serena Williams' Wimbledon return

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'She's inspirational, epic': Djokovic on Serena Williams' Wimbledon return

Dyan Castillejo,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 29, 2026 08:59 PM PHT

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tennis

Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic

Serena Williams

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