MELBOURNE, Australia – The frown on Novak Djokovic’s face after sliding in the white letters “MELBOURNE” behind the base line at Rod Laver Arena was enough to suggest that the No. 1 world chances of defending his Australian Open title are over to suffer a serious blow.
In the third round at Melbourne Park on February 12, Djokovic appeared to be preparing for a straight set victory over American Taylor Fritz when he fell awkwardly and immediately signaled to the coach. After going through an extended medical timeout, Djokovic returned to the court, but he seemed significantly impaired in his movements and in severe pain.
The 17-time main champion continually palpated the right side of his abdomen, often trying to stretch it between the ends. He often winced as he tracked the balls, giving up many that were hit just a few feet on either side of his racket.
In the blink of an eye, Fritz tied the match in two sets each and, for the first time in the tournament, there should be a real concern on Djokovic’s pitch. But the Serbian won the decision 6-2, letting out a giant roar inside the central court by guaranteeing the match point after three hours and 25 minutes.
“I know it is a muscle injury, definitely,” said Djokovic discouraged immediately after the match. “I don’t know if I will be able to recover in less than two days. I am not sure if I will be able to play the next game.”
An adequate diagnosis of 33-year-old Djokovic has not yet been released, making his health the biggest mystery during the Australian Open weekend. The question remains: would he be able to continue his search for a record ninth crown in the Under Under, and if not, who would step up and raise the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup?
Much of the speculation after the victory over Fritz was that the muscle injured by Djokovic was the right oblique, one of the two diagonally oriented abdominal muscles that run from the rib cage to the anterior trunk, or pelvis. An extreme amount of stress is put on these muscles in sports that require high rotation, such as tennis. And few in the sport put more stress and tension on the body than Djokovic.
It takes an average person between eight and 10 weeks to fully recover from an oblique tear, according to Harvard Medical School, but Djokovic only had 48 hours to settle for his fourth round match against 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic .
Djokovic was absent from the police station on Day 6, but returned on Sunday for a light gym session, which consisted of stretching and running, before stepping into the John Cain Arena for an afternoon workout.
A few hours later, he was screeching and sliding around the Rod Laver Arena, again imitating the defensive qualities of a brick wall and leaving Raonic scratching his head in a combination of disbelief and frustration. Djokovic may have used a large anti-inflammatory patch on the right side of his abdomen, but he suddenly looked more like the player we have become used to seeing over the years. If fans hadn’t known about his fall in the previous match, they would never have guessed that he was dealing with a potentially serious injury.
It took a little less than three hours for Djokovic to dispatch Raonic 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, register his 300th Grand Slam win and move on to the Australian Open quarterfinals via 12th time. . How could he accomplish such a feat with what he believes to be a torn oblique?
“The term ‘muscle rupture’ can often trigger alarm signals, but they are generally scalable and rated from one to three,” said Stephania Bell, an injury analyst at ESPN. “Grade 1, which could be, suggests little or no structural damage and, although painful, may not adversely affect function seriously. Sometimes an athlete may feel a crack or tug and that is what he refers to to it like a tear.
“A complete break would probably prevent you from playing, given the pain and functional impairment. Things that require strength, like serving, and things that put your muscles in an extreme stretch, like wide stretch to hit a shot, maybe even a few shots full body would be a challenge for Djokovic if he had a complete oblique tear. “
After the victory over Raonic, Djokovic confirmed that he had an MRI scan in Melbourne and now knows the extent of the injury, although again he did not provide specific details. While he is still standing in the tournament, he is not looking forward to sharing his diagnosis with his rivals.
“I understand that 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 definitely felt better. The combination of painkillers, treatment and a little 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 period of time and then overcome Raonic is something that caught the attention of many throughout the tour, including longtime Serena Wiliams coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
“Sometimes Novak plays with an opponent’s mind when he is in trouble,” Mouratoglou told Tennis Majors. “He pretends he’s giving up and then, boom. He plays again. He’s done it several times in the past.”
Former Australian doubles icon Todd Woodbridge also pondered, saying, “He’ll be fine. I’d say to the rest of the field, watch out, because we’ve seen him do this kind of thing before, drink a little hiccup and still win majors . “
It is not the first time that Djokovic has to fight against an injury in a Grand Slam. At Wimbledon in 2017, he struggled with a persistent elbow disease, but still made it to the quarterfinals.
At the US Open 2019, he dropped out in the fourth round after an injury to his left shoulder got the better of him, while at last year’s tournament in New York, he struggled with stiff neck to reach the fourth round. He lost just one set in his first three games before being in default for hitting a lineman in the neck in his round of 16 tie against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
Djokovic will now face Alexander Zverev, who defeated Dusan Lajovic, 23rd seed, in two sets, with the winner advancing to the semifinals. With the extent of Djokovic’s injury still a mystery, there is no guarantee that he will be able to face the German, although many have similar thoughts before his departure against Raonic.
“If it were any other tournament, I would retire. I definitely would not be playing,” said Djokovic. “But it is a Grand Slam. It is very important for me at this stage in my career. I have to accept the circumstances and conditions that I am in at the moment and that I will probably be in pain all the time.
“Against Sascha, there will probably be more rallies, tiring rallies. It will be demanding on my part, really from the back of the court. It is in the hands of God where my condition goes from today to the first point against Sascha [but] if I feel 10%, I like my chances. “
If Djokovic really tore his oblique, regardless of the degree of the injury, it will be a case of management, rather than having it fully healed before the end of the tournament.
“Most of the time between suffering the original injury and his next round will be spent on recovery, receiving treatment,” said Bell. “Given the demands of a Grand Slam tournament, balancing recovery while maintaining fitness and readiness to play will be the challenge.”
Djokovic’s record on the blue courts at Melbourne Park is 76-5, and after the fourth round it is an even more impressive 24-3. Even with 75% in good health, Djokovic would probably still be the favorite to defeat almost everyone who remained on his way to Slam No. 18.