MELBOURNE, Australia – The grimaces on Novak Djokovic’s face after slipping on the white “MELBOURNE” letters behind the baseline in Rod Laver Arena were enough to make the world’s no. 1’s chances of defending his Australian Open title get just as serious.
In the third round at Melbourne Park on 12 February, Djokovic looked like he was sailing to a straight win over American Taylor Fritz when he fell awkwardly and immediately signaled to the coach. After Djokovic underwent a lengthy medical time-out, he returned to court, but experienced significant knee dislocation in his movement and severe pain.
The 17-time champion constantly felt on the right side of his abdomen and regularly tried to stretch it between points. He regularly wins while locating balls, giving up enough that just a few feet were hit on either side of his racket.
In the blink of an eye, Fritz tied the game on two sets and for the first time in the tournament, there must have been real concern in the Djokovic camp. But the Serb took the decisive 6-2 and uttered a huge roar in midfield when he secured the match point after three hours and 25 minutes.
“I know it’s definitely a tear in the muscle,” a deflated Djokovic said immediately after the game. ‘I do not know if I will recover in less than two days. I’m not sure I will be able to play the next game. ‘
A proper diagnosis has not yet been announced about the 33-year-old Djokovic, who made his health the biggest mystery over the midweek of the Australian Open. The question remains: could he pursue a record ninth crown Down Under, and if not, who would lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup?
Many of the speculations after the victory over Fritz were that the muscle that injured Djokovic was his right-sided oblique path, one of two diagonally-oriented abdominal muscles running from the rib cage to the anterior torso or pelvis. These muscles become very stressful in sports that turn a lot, such as tennis. And few, if any, in the sport place more stress and strain on their body than Djokovic.
According to Harvard Medical School, the average person takes between eight and ten weeks to fully recover from a torn oblique, but Djokovic only had 48 hours to get himself ready for his fourth round match against Milos Raonic, Wimbledon finalist. 2016.
Djokovic was absent from the district on day 6, but returned Sunday for a light gym, which consisted of stretching and jogging, before heading to John Cain Arena in the afternoon for a workout.
A few hours later, he beeps and moves around the Rod Laver Arena, once again mimicking the defensive characteristics of a brick wall, leaving Raonic scratching his head in a combination of disbelief and frustration. Djokovic may have been wearing a large anti-inflammatory patch on the right side of his abdomen, but suddenly he looks more like the player we have become accustomed to over the years. If fans had not known of his tumble in the previous game, they would never have guessed that he sustained a serious injury.
Djokovic needed a little less than three hours to defeat Raonic 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, record his 300th Grand Slam victory and advance to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open for a record 12th time to go over. . How could he manage such an achievement with a tear diagonally?
“The term ‘muscle tear’ can sound alarm bells, but it’s generally scalable and rated from one to three,” said Stephania Bell, an ESPN injury analyst. “Grade 1, which it may be, indicates little to no structural damage, and while it is painful, it can not seriously impair function. Sometimes an athlete may make a bang or a pull. feel, and this is what makes them refer to this as a tear.
“A complete tear is likely to prevent him from playing, given the pain and the functional compromise. Things that require strength, such as serving, and things that put the muscles on an extreme stretch, such as stretching wide.” getting a shot, maybe even some cross-body shots, would have been challenging for Djokovic if he had a full oblique tear. ‘
After the victory against Raonic, Djokovic confirmed that he had undergone an MRI in Melbourne and now knows the extent of the injury, although again he did not provide any specific details. As long as he is still in the tournament, he does not want to share his diagnosis with his competitors.
“I understand you want to know, but I really do not want to get into what it is,” he told the press. “It’s not ideal for me. I mean, I definitely felt better. The combination of painkillers, treatment and a little willpower [is getting me through], but I do not want to talk about it now. This is irrelevant. ‘
Djokovic’s ability to recover in such a short time and then overcome Raonic is something that has attracted the attention of many people around the tour, including Serena Wiliams’ longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
“Sometimes Novak plays with the mind of an opponent when he is in trouble,” Mouratoglou told Tennis Majors. He gives before he gives up, and then, tree. He plays again. He has done this many times in the past. ‘
Former Australian doubles icon Todd Woodbridge also weighed in, saying: “He’s going well. I would say to the rest of the field, beware, because we’ve seen him do this kind of thing a bit. a hiccup and still winning majors. ‘
This is not the first time Djokovic has had to fight a Grand Slam injury. At Wimbledon in 2017, he battled a nagging elbow ailment, yet reached the quarterfinals.
At the 2019 U.S. Open, he withdrew in the fourth round after an injury to his left shoulder prevailed while fighting through the neck stiffness to reach the fourth round during last year’s tournament in New York. He dropped just one set in his first three games before hitting a lineout in his 16th round against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
Djokovic will now defeat Alexander Zverev, who selected Dusan Lajovic, the 23rd, in live reports, with the winner advancing to the semifinals. Because Djokovic’s injury is still a mystery, there is no guarantee that he will be fit to face the German, although many had similar thoughts before his match against Raonic.
“If it was another tournament, I would retire. I would definitely not play,” Djokovic said. “But it’s a Grand Slam. It matters a lot to me at this stage of my career. I have to accept the circumstances and the condition I’m currently in, and that I’ll probably be in pain all the time.
“Against Sascha there are probably going to be more rallies, grueling rallies. It’s going to be demanding on my part, really from the back of the court. It’s in God’s hands where my condition goes from today to the first point against Sascha. [but] if I feel 10%, I like my chances. ‘
If Djokovic did indeed tear his oblique tear, regardless of the degree of injury, it would be a case of management, as opposed to being completely healed before the end of the tournament.
“Most of his time between the causal injury and his next round will be spent on recovery to get treatment,” Bell said. “Given the demands of a Grand Slam tournament, the challenge is to balance recovery while maintaining conditioning and readiness to play.”
Djokovic’s record on the blue lanes of Melbourne Park is 76-5, and the post-fourth round is an even more impressive 24-3. Even with 75% healthy, Djokovic would probably still enjoy the preference of defeating just about everyone who gets in his way to Slam no. 18 remained.