Novak Djokovic sidelined with muscle tear post Australian Open 2021 success
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Novak Djokovic has come out and clarified once and for all that he tore an abdominal oblique muscle in his 3rd round match at the Australian Open. The MRI scans post match, against Taylor Fritz, revealed he had that tear.
But Novak Djokovic wanted to play on, in the tournament, with that injury and he did. Novak said that once he was sure he knew he could bear the pain, he knew he would play on. Next, Djokovic played 4 more matches with that injury. Including the final of the Australian Open against Daniil Medvedev.
That decision though came at a cost as Novak revealed that the injury had aggravated, again confirmed by a second MRI scan. Now the Australian Open champion will spend a few days/ weeks on the sidelines.
Novak Djokovic needs ‘time off to heal’
According to reports from the Australian media, Novak Djokovic had a marked crack in the oblique abdominal muscles which started from 17 millimeters and stretched to 25 millimeters. Marc McGowan stated that the MRI taken in the morning showed the same.
Djokovic is now set to reduce his playing time and take a break. He talked of the same and said, “According to the doctor, it’s not too bad, but I need to take some time off and let it heal. Of course it hurts. To be honest. I developed the skill to dodge those things and focus on what matters the most to me”
Djokovic’s head coach Goran Ivanisevic also spoke about the same and said, “Knowing him, I know he has mind to overcome pain in everything. Knowing what he had, we did tests every day before the matches. It’s amazing. I never met someone like him, mentally.“
It thus, remains to be seen when the world no. 1 will be back in action next up.
Also Read: “It was a strange kind of lack of motivation,” Novak Djokovic on life post US Open 2020
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Auri Ghosh
(652 Articles Published)