It is bothering me on serve, but it’s getting better: Novak Djokovic’s expresses optimism on ‘neck injury’

Djokovic played his first ATP match in six months at the Cincinnati Open(being held in New York) yesterday. He toppled Ricardas Berankis in a tight face-off, but endured a sore neck throughout.

The neck pain had prompted the Serbian to withdraw from the men’s doubles event on Sunday, leading to rumors that he might not be all up for a top-level return. But the 33-year-old looked sharp when it mattered despite the injury. He pulled out an extra gear on the big points to win 7-6(2), 6-4.

Novak was visibly bothered by a bad neck. The trainer massaged twice during medical timeouts. The Serbian double-faulted seven times and trailed by a break in both sets. However, his experience sustained him to the finish line, and he will now face American Tennys Sandgren in the third round.

With his win over Berankis, Djokovic ameliorated to a perfect W-L record of 19-0 in official ATP tour matches. The Serbian has won titles at the Australian Open, ATP Cup and Dubai Open this year, but his winning streak seemed in danger of ending in the first set on Monday.

The 17 time Grand Slam winner is, however, was optimistic about his recovery. It is evident from his words during the post-match press conference. Talking about his neck in his post-match press conference via Zoom, Djokovic assuaged the fears of his fans.

‘It’s unfortunate, after six months. It is bothering me on serve, but it’s getting better. It’s been four days. It’s not yet where I’d like it to be but it’s heading in the right direction.” Novak said.

With a mask on his face, he underwent treatment from an ATP physio during the second set. Trailing 4-2 at one point, many fans thought that World No. 1’s neck issues might send him packing from the tournament. However, Djokovic rebounded to win the last four games of the match to disarm all such worries.

“Hopefully it will not react with the inflammation after tonight’s match. We’ll do everything possible with the physio and then we’ll see what tomorrow brings,” Djokovic added.

He also expressed his thoughts and shed some light on the speed of the courts at Flushing Meadows, which have reportedly been playing quicker than normal this year.

“I don’t know what they have done with the surface, but it’s at least 20-30% faster than it used to be. It takes time to adjust,” Djokovic claimed.