DJOKOVIC WINS BUT WON’T CLEAR UP INJURY MYSTERY
NOVAK DJOKOVIC refused to clear up the mystery surrounding the injury he is apparently struggling with in Melbourne, but which seemed to cause him no major problems yesterday as he reached the quarter-finals.
The world No.1 was pessimistic he would even be able to take to the court for the match against Milos Raonic after sustaining a stomach muscle injury during his five-set victory over Taylor Fritz on Friday.
Djokovic said he had suffered a tear but, after skipping practice on Saturday to have tests, he battled to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win against Raonic.
There were a few winces and some unusual misses, particularly when Djokovic was pulled to his forehand side, but the Serbian generally moved well and was too strong off the ground for his big-serving opponent.
Asked about his condition, the eight-time champion, who will next face Alexander Zverev, said: ‘I understand you want to know but I really don’t want to get into what it is.
‘Yes, I did an MRI, I know what it is,
THIRD seed Dominic Thiem became the biggest casualty of the men’s draw so far with a meek defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in round four. The US Open champion, beaten 6-4, 6-4, 6-0, said: ‘The thing is that I’m not a machine.’
but I don’t want to talk about it now. [It’s] good enough to compete. It’s not ideal. I didn’t have much of a preparation for this match, I didn’t hit a tennis ball since two nights ago.
‘I warmed up a couple of hours before tonight’s match to really see how I would feel. If I wasn’t in the [right] condition, I would pull out.
‘There was a big cloud of doubt whether I’m going to play but it’s a grand slam and, for me, at this stage of my career, this means everything. If it was any other tournament, I probably wouldn’t be playing.
‘As I’m on painkillers, very strong ones, I don’t know exactly the damage done. It’s kind of a gamble, that’s what the medical team told me. There is a very slight chance I’ll make a significant damage that would take me out of the tour for an extended period.’