Todd Woodbridge questioned the seriousness of the injury that Novak Djokovic suffered at the Australian Open 2023. An injury that however did not prevent the Serbian champion from beating Alex de Minaur and reaching the quarterfinals.
Woodbridge, who currently works in sports broadcasting, is one of many who have expressed doubts about the extent of Djokovic’s injury.
He told: “He seems a little wonky between points, but once he starts running there’s absolutely no problem with the way he moves. I’m not saying it’s skill in the game, it’s pretty obvious he has a bit of a problem, but sometimes it feels like it’s about to come off, so it’s sounding good here and there, but you know, that’s Novak. Novak uses that kind of energy to focus, to fire up and we’ve seen him use the crowd in the same way sometimes. And that’s just how he does it and we’ve been looking at that for a long time now.”
Boris Becker, former Novak Djokovic’s coach, said his former player would never have resorted to such tactics: “Sometimes you think he’s bluffing or that he can’t finish the game. It’s a bit of heaven and hell. This it also makes it difficult for the opponent. But Novak wouldn’t do that if he had nothing. I’ve known him for a long time and I know he has thigh problems. Novak can grit his teeth when it comes to big points, but he also lets go in the less important moments.”
Novak in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open
Novak Djokovic returns to normal on the eve of the quarterfinals. Moreover, in a segment of the scoreboard that has remained mostly orphaned of real obstacles, if only with completely stationary bowls. After living with the ghosts of the thigh problem between the first and third rounds, the Serbian phenomenon gets rid of Alex de Minaur with a gigantic performance.
The nine-time champion of the tournament does not allow break points during the scarce two hours of play that he manages in an extraordinary way both in the setting phase and with the serve available. Needless to say, in addition to the six breaks that he spreads in a surgical way, with the joke he leaves just sixteen points on the street. Djokovic seals the success on 6-2 6-1 6-2 and collects a new avalanche of records as per the logic of things.
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