‘Murray will play through pain at Wimbledon’
Novak Djokovic expects Andy Murray to either recover from his hip injury or play through pain to defend his title next week at Wimbledon.
The world No 1’s preparations were again undermined when injury forced his withdrawal from an exhibition match at Hurlingham scheduled for today, a second call-off this week.
Discussing Murray’s prospects, world No 4 Djokovic said: “I’m sure Andy does everything in his power to get himself ready and prepared for his first match.
“He’s got a team of great professionals. There is a reason behind it, because they all make sure that every single aspect of our bodies are being taken care of and worked on and to the state where you can perform your best.
“At times it’s not possible. But we have learned how to play through pain.
“There is always something that is going on, but we are not robots. We are humans, we have to deal with those things.
“Those adversities that we have to face on the court and challenges are actually there to be presented as an opportunity for us to learn, to get stronger, to grow.
“This is a challenge that is not unknown to him. He has faced these kind of circumstances before where he hasn’t maybe played as much, didn’t have as good results that he had over the years.
“But he’s a champion. He’s someone that has proven so many times that he’s one of the best players in the world.
“He’s defending champion of Wimbledon. You’ve got to take this in consideration rather than just focusing on this very present moment.”
Djokovic yesterday overcame American Donald Young 6-2 7-6 (11/9) to progress to the semi-finals of the Aegon International at Eastbourne.
“I enjoyed it, especially in the second set,” the Serbian said. “Grass is a very demanding surface. Especially when you’re running all over the court, especially if you’re further back. That’s where you are in a danger zone in terms of movement.”
Meanwhile, British No 1 Johanna Konta followed victory over the reigning French Open champion by recovering from a fall to defeat the world No 1 on the same day in the women’s singles.
The 26-year-old had already impressed in defeating Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 3-6 6-4 and was on her third match point against Angelique Kerber when she slipped, banged her head on the court and remained motionless for around five minutes.
She appeared at risk of having to default the match, but Konta recovered, earned a fourth match point, and broke Kerber to secure a 6-3 6-4 victory, continuing her promising form. She faces Karolina Pliskova today.
Konta was joined in the semis by fellow Briton Heather Watson, who also won twice and next meets Caroline Wozniacki. Watson saw off Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-3, then defeated Barbora Strycova 6-1 1-6 6-4.