Novak Djokovic injury ‘not good at all’ after whirlwind match
Novak Djokovic is through to the third round of the Australian Open, as he extends his unbeaten record down under to 36 matches, but his four set victory over Enzo Couacoud was not without drama.
Djokovic picked up a hamstring injury on his way to the Adelaide title two weeks ago, however it appears to be more serious than it originally seemed.
During the second set, which he eventually lost, the Serb took a medical timeout to have the strapping around his leg re-applied.
When speaking to Australian Open presenter Barbara Schett, which is live and exclusive on discovery+ and Eurosport, Novak Djokovic suggested that his hamstring was not in a good way.
“It (hamstring) is not good at all, to be honest. I’ll take it day-to-day, it was better last match, the feeling, than tonight. That’s all I can say, it’s up to god, and physio to help me. Let’s take it day by day, I hope I’ll be able to recover.”
The hamstring was not the only thing that was bothering Djokovic, as a drunk member of the crowd, who was later ejected, appeared to be targeting the Serb.
Eurosport expert Mats Wilander noticed the change in Djokovic’s demeanour on court, “Novak seemed very down, looking down. It might be about the leg. There was a drunk guy in the stands apparently who wasn’t being that nice – maybe Novak was a little upset. Something seemed like it was going on after the match.”
While Wilander acknowledged that Djokovic’s injury and demeanour were worries, he explained that the 9-time Australian Open champion still has so many weapons that can hurt his opposition.
“The good thing with Novak is when he’s injured, he can do so much with a tennis ball these days – he can flatten out the forehand, he can go for his serve, he served brilliantly. Along as he can go through the matches, he’ll find another way of playing tennis that very few players can manage to do so of course, it’s a worry but tactically he’ll find a way to play on one leg if he has to.”
Djokovic will be hoping his hamstring is feeling better on Saturday, when he faces his toughest test yet against Grigor Dimitrov. The 21-time Grand Slam champion should be confident though, as he has a 10-1 head-to-head against the Bulgarian.
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