French Open 2020: serious injury? Novak Djokovic practices camouflage
Novak Djokovic struggled with physical problems in the quarter-final match against Pablo Carreno Busta , especially at the beginning. Afterwards, the world number one was not too willing to provide information about a possible injury.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Oct 08, 2020, 07:48 am
Not too many people in this world know Novak Djokovic as well as his former coach Boris Becker. When the German suggested a possible task for the world number one during the first set of the match against Pablo Carreno Busta, the Serbian fans had to expect the worst.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner kept shaking off his left arm, and he was clearly struggling with neck problems. Two treatments at the beginning of the second set were the logical consequence. After this, Djokovic seemed to improve continuously, in rounds three and four the 33-year-old showed the tennis that had brought him to the quarter-finals in an impressive manner and without losing a set.
Djokovic shakes off the problems
Nevertheless, in the press conference that followed, physical problems were of course the number one topic of conversation. Djokovic was not too willing to give information about a possible injury: "I had neck and shoulder problems. I'll only say that. I'm still in the tournament and so I won't reveal too much."
The father of two should then reveal a little more: "I definitely didn't feel comfortable when I came on the court. A few things happened during the warm-up. I had to deal with these physical problems." As the match continued, Djokovic felt better and the lack of energy at the beginning came back bit by bit after a set and a half.
Carreno Busta: "That's normal, isn't it?"
His opponent Pablo Carreno Busta was not amused by the Serb's behavior. "That's normal, isn't it? He's always done this over the years when he had problems on the court," said the Iberian, referring to the stretching of his arms and neck. "Maybe it's the pressure or something that he has to do. But he continues to play normally."
Normal, that was definitely not Djokovic's appearance at the beginning of the game. In addition to physical complaints, Boris Becker attributed this to the mental constitution of his former protégé due to the incident in New York - Djokovic was disqualified in the match against Carreno Busta .
The world number one rejected that in the press conference: "It wasn't at all. I don't think about it - zero percent." It shouldn't have been Becker's only misjudgment.
Here is the individual tableau for the men
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