Novak Djokovic reveals there is one “specific movement” that triggers pain in his left hamstring as he is praying he manages to get through the entire Australian Open.
On Saturday, Djokovic was visibly in pain and discomfort but still managed to beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7) 6-3 6-4 and progress into the Australian Open round-of-16.
“It’s movement, a specific movement that just triggers [pain]. So I pray it [the pain] is not going to happen but it happens every match, so I have to deal with it. I called the physio and got the pills in my system. It helped so far. Not ideal but somehow finding a way. At the end of the day this is high-level professional sport, you’ve got to find a way,” Djokovic told Eurosport.
Djokovic on beating Dimitrov
Even though Djokovic was dealing with hamstring pain and discomfort, he still managed to get the job done in straight sets.
After the match, Djokovic acknowledged that Dimitrov was a difficult opponent and admitted there were games when his hamstring felt “good and bad.”
“I think every game made a difference. But if I had to pick one it would probably be that tie-breaker, a very close tie-breaker that ended with an incredible point. I was kind of going up and down physically with my leg, there were times I felt good, times I felt it was not looking great so had to handle that,” Djokovic reflected.
After missing out on three set points on Dimitrov’s serve in the ninth game, Djokovic also failed to serve out for the first set in the 10th game.
Then, Djokovic saved two set points in the 12th game and one more in the tie-break, before realizing his fifth set point to win a tight first set.
In the second set, Djokovic earned the first break in the sixth game and then held on to his serve the rest of the set to open a two-set lead.
Up by two sets, Djokovic lost his serve once but broke Dimitrov three times in the third set to complete a straight-set win.
Djokovic plays next against Alex de Minaur.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login