Novak Djokovic is following his successful blueprint from 2023 by not practising on his off-day at the Australian Open as he plots to defy another tournament-threatening injury.
The Serbian superstar won his 10th title in Melbourne two years ago despite suffering a left hamstring strain in a warm-up event – and claiming he “wasn’t really liking” his chance of winning the title.
The Olympic champion sustained a “very similar” injury to his left leg during his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night and needed strapping and painkillers to beat the Wimbledon champion.
But Djokovic, 37, admitted he was “concerned” about the problem in his post-match press conference and he has not trained at Melbourne Park since. He had booked Court 16 for a 90-minute training session with his coach Andy Murray on Thursday but then cancelled the reservation earlier this morning.
He has now booked the same court at 1pm on Friday – with his semi-final against world No.2 Alexander Zverev scheduled to start at 2.30pm in the Rod Laver Arena.
In 2023, Djokovic claimed he had a 3cm tear in his left hamstring and also wore heavy strapping for every match until beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
He broke down in tears when he celebrated his 22nd Grand Slam title with his family and coach Goran Ivanisevic – and then sobbed into his towel after making his way back to his chair.
And the Serbian superstar later admitted that the mental stress of fighting the injury had taken a big toll on him.
“When I went into my box, I just think emotionally collapsed there and teared up with especially my mother and my brother when I gave them a hug, because up to that moment I was not allowing myself to, I guess, be distracted with things off the court or whatever was happening in dealing with an injury, things happening off the court, as well, that could easily have been a big disturbance to my focus and to my game,” Djokovic said.
“It required an enormous mental energy really to stay present, to stay focused, to take things day by day, and really see how far I can go.
“Yeah, was a huge relief and release of the emotions in the end. Just difficult to find any additional words really. It’s been a long journey, but very special one.”
In 2021, the Serb won here despite an abdominal strain. Ivanisevic claimed: “I don’t say 100 per cent, but 97 per cent of the players, on Saturday when you get results of the MRI, you go straight to the referee office and pull out of the tournament.
“But not him. He is from other space. His brain is working different. I’m with him four years, but it still sometimes how his brain work. He gave everything, 77 therapies a day. Every day was kind of better and better. I didn’t expect this.
“I thought I saw everything in 2021 when he won here with the abdominal tear. This one was unbelievable.”
