Novak Djokovic: ‘When you are out of that rhythm, body can…’

Daniil Medvedev apparently made fun of Novak Djokovic’s leg injury during their match at the Adelaide International. In the first set of the Adelaide semifinal, Djokovic sprained his left leg. After serving the seventh game for a 5-2 lead, Djokovic left the court for an off-court medical break. When Djokovic returned to the court, he served for the first set, ultimately claiming a 6-3 6-4 victory. After Djokovic served in the eighth game of the second set to take a 5-3 lead, Medvedev reportedly mocked the Serb’s leg injury. After the match, Djokovic said that he felt fine after receiving a medical intervention and taking anti-inflammatories. “Thankfully it wasn’t anything too serious. If it had been, I wouldn’t have been able to continue, so I just tried with [a] medical time off, some anti-inflammatories and settled in after a few games. I was just trying to keep up and not break my serve. I think that was the key, that in the end I would have a chance. I think the longer the match went on, the more my hamstrings got h*tter and the less they bothered me, so I hope everything goes well tomorrow,” Djokovic said after the match. The first breaking points of the match came in the fourth game, when Djokovic broke Medvedev’s serve and moved to a 3-1 lead. Djokovic grabbed the first break point and held serve for him for the remainder of the first set.

Djokovic reflects on Alcaraz’s injury

Novak Djokovic expressed his disappointment and empathized with Carlos Alcaraz. “It’s not good for the tournament and tennis. He’s No. 1 in the world. Such a big name, big star in our sport already,” he said. “I’m sure that many of the fans are disappointed. I hope for his speedy recovery, whatever it is. I know he had an injury at the end of last season that was different from this one. It’s unfortunate for him. I hope he can recover and be back on the tour quickly. It happens that sometimes, even if you have a longer period of time without an official tournament, your body is not used to that kind of conditions and circumstances because as a tennis player, you’re constantly on the road, playing competitions. When you are out of that rhythm, body can react. You can have some injuries and difficulties when you come back to the tour and start pushing more and giving more intensity to the points,” he added.