Venus Williams made it clear she has no intention of retiring following her painful Wimbledon exit.
Venus´s 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 third round defeat against fellow former champion Petra Kvitova on Friday means the five-time Wimbledon winner has failed to reach the last 16 at a major since 2011.
At 34, Venus was the oldest woman left in the Wimbledon singles and, plagued for the last three years by Sjogren´s Disease -- an immune system disease that leaves her battling fatigue and joint pain -- she hasn´t won a Grand Slam since securing the last of her seven major titles in 2008 at Wimbledon.
Djokovic overcame a hard fall in the third set to advance to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 Centre Court win over Gilles Simon.
Leading 3-2 in the third set and with Simon serving, Djokovic lunged for a forehand shot and fell hard to the grass, rolling over and grabbing his upper left arm and grimacing in pain.
But after taking a medical timeout and receiving treatment by a trainer, he recovered to play out the final four games of the match, breaking Simon’s serve in the final game, his seventh break in the match.
“I basically had a strong impact on the shoulder,” Djokovic said. “When I stood up, I felt that click or pop. I feared maybe it might be a dislocated shoulder ... or joint problem.
“But luckily for me it was only an impact that had a minor effect on the joint and the muscles around, but no damage, significant, that can cause a bigger problem. I just came from the doctor’s office, ultrasound. It’s all looking good.”
Djokovic will next play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Jimmy Wang of Taiwan 6-2, 6-2, 7-5, in the fourth round on Monday.
“There is two days off, I’m going to try to recover and get ready,” Djokovic said.
Leading 3-2 in the third set and with Simon serving, Djokovic lunged for a forehand shot and fell hard to the grass, rolling over and grabbing his upper left arm and grimacing in pain.
But after taking a medical timeout and receiving treatment by a trainer, he recovered to play out the final four games of the match, breaking Simon’s serve in the final game, his seventh break in the match.
“I basically had a strong impact on the shoulder,” Djokovic said. “When I stood up, I felt that click or pop. I feared maybe it might be a dislocated shoulder ... or joint problem.
“But luckily for me it was only an impact that had a minor effect on the joint and the muscles around, but no damage, significant, that can cause a bigger problem. I just came from the doctor’s office, ultrasound. It’s all looking good.”
Djokovic will next play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Jimmy Wang of Taiwan 6-2, 6-2, 7-5, in the fourth round on Monday.
“There is two days off, I’m going to try to recover and get ready,” Djokovic said.