MELBOURNE, Australia – The grimace on Novak Djokovic’s face after slipping on the white “MELBOURNE” lettering behind the baseline at the Rod Laver Arena was enough to suggest the world’s No.1 chances of being Australian Open title defenses were just a serious hit.
In the third round at Melbourne Park on February 12, Djokovic looked on his way to a straight set victory over American Taylor Fritz when he fell awkwardly and immediately signaled for the trainer. After an extended medical time-out, Djokovic returned to court, but he seemed significantly stunted in his movement and experienced severe pain.
The 17-time great champion constantly felt around the right side of his stomach, often trying to stretch it out between the points. He often flinched when trying to track down balls and gave up a lot that were hit just a few feet to either side of his racket.
In an instant, Fritz brought the match to two sets apiece and for the first time in the tournament, there should have been real concern in the Djokovic camp. But the Serb took the decisive 6-2 and let out a gigantic roar in the center court as he secured match point after three hours and 25 minutes.
“I’m sure it’s a tear in the muscle,” said a deflated Djokovic immediately after the game. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to recover within two days. I’m not sure if I can play the next game.”
A correct diagnosis has yet to be made public about 33-year-old Djokovic, making his health the biggest mystery over the middle weekend of the Australian Open. The question remains, could he continue his pursuit of a record ninth crown Down Under, and if not, who would stand up to win the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup?
Much of the speculation after the win over Fritz was that the muscle that injured Djokovic was his right oblique, one of two diagonally oriented abs that run from the rib cage to the front torso or pelvis. These muscles are extremely stressed in sports that require high rotation, such as tennis. And few, if any, in sports put more stress and strain on their bodies than Djokovic.
According to Harvard Medical School, it takes the average person between eight and 10 weeks to fully recover from a torn oblique, but Djokovic only had 48 hours to get ready for his fourth round against 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos. Raonic.
Djokovic was absent on Day 6, but returned on Sunday for a light gym session, which included some stretching and jogging, before hitting the John Cain Arena for an afternoon practice hit.
A few hours later, he squeaked and slipped his way through Rod Laver Arena, once again mimicking the defensive qualities of a brick wall, leaving Raonic scratching his head in a combination of disbelief and frustration. Djokovic might have been wearing a big anti-inflammatory patch on the right side of his stomach, but suddenly he looked more like the player we’ve grown used to over the years. Had fans not been aware of his fall during the previous game, they would never have suspected he was dealing with a potentially serious injury.
It took Djokovic just under three hours to send Raonic 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, take his 300th Grand Slam win and enter the Australian Open quarter-finals in record time to go. . How could he ever do such a feat with what he believes is a torn hypotenuse?
“The term ‘muscle tear’ can often set off alarm bells, but they are generally scalable and graded from one to three,” said ESPN injury analyst Stephania Bell. Grade 1, what it could be, suggests little to no structural damage, and while painful, it may not negatively impact function in a serious way. Sometimes an athlete may feel a thud or jerk and therefore call it she shed a tear.
“A complete tear would probably prevent him from playing, given the pain and functional compromise. Things that require strength, like serving, and things that stretch the muscles extremely, like stretching wide to reach a shot, maybe even some. cross-body shots, would be challenging for Djokovic if he had a full slanting tear. ”
After the victory over 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 specific details. While he is still in the tournament, he is not eager to share his diagnosis with his rivals.
“I understand you want to know, but I really don’t want to get into what it is,” he told the press. “It’s not ideal for me. I mean, I’ve definitely felt better. The combination of painkillers, treatment and some willpower [is getting me through], but I don’t want to talk about it now. It is irrelevant. “
Djokovic’s ability to recover in such a short time and then conquer Raonic has caught the attention of many on the tour, including Serena Wiliams’ longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
“Sometimes Novak plays with an opponent’s mind when he’s in trouble,” Mouratoglou told Tennis Majors. ‘He pretends to give up, then boom. He’s playing again. He has done that many times in the past. ‘
Former Australian doubles icon Todd Woodbridge also weighed in: “He’s going to be fine. I would say to the rest of the field watch out because we’ve seen him do things like this before, a bit of a hiccup and still win majors. . “
It is not the first time that Djokovic has to fight himself through an injury at a Grand Slam. At Wimbledon in 2017, he fought a nagging elbow condition, but still reached the quarter finals.
At the 2019 US Open, he withdrew in the fourth round after a left shoulder injury prevailed while fighting through neck stiffness at last year’s tournament in New York to reach the fourth round. He dropped just one set in his first three games before being declared at fault for punching a linesman in the throat in his round of 16 draw against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
Djokovic now takes on Alexander Zverev, who defeated 23rd seed Dusan Lajovic in straight sets, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals. As the extent of Djokovic’s injury is still a mystery, there is no guarantee he will be able to take on the German, although many had similar thoughts prior to his match against Raonic.
“If it was any other tournament, I would withdraw. I certainly would not play,” said Djokovic. “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 condition I am in at the moment and that I will probably feel pain all the time.”
“Against Sascha there will probably be more rallies, grueling rallies. It will be demanding on my part, really from the back of the court. It is in God’s hands where my condition today goes to the first point against Sascha. [but] when i feel 10% i like my chances. “
If Djokovic has indeed torn his oblique, regardless of the severity of the injury, it will be a matter of management, as opposed to being completely healed before the tournament ends.
“Most of his time between suffering from the original injury and his next round will be spent on recovery and treatment,” said Bell. “Given the demands of a Grand Slam tournament, the balance of recovery while maintaining fitness and willingness to play will be the challenge.”
Djokovic’s record on Melbourne Park’s blue tracks is 76-5, and after the fourth round is an even more impressive 24-3. Even at 75% healthy, Djokovic would probably still prefer to beat just about anyone left on his path to Slam No. 18.