Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge has questioned Novak Djokovic's handling of a potentially tournament-threatening injury.
Asked last Friday straight after his third-round win about being ready for his next match, Djokovic replied: "I know it's a tear, definitely, of the muscle. … I don't know if I'm going to step out onto the court or not."
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He did, and had enough to get past Canadian Milos Raonic in four sets. This time, when reporters inquired about his health, Djokovic was more coy.
"I know what it is," said Djokovic, who plays Alexander Zverev tonight, "but I don't want to talk about it now."
Woodbridge defended the inquisition from reporters, saying that Djokovic should have known the question was coming.
"It's a bit strange that he would be worried about answering that," Woodbridge told Wide World of Sports' The Morning Serve.
"He's done a million press conferences where he would be able to dilute it and divert that question away or basically just answer it. It probably does tell me though, he's a little bit edgy. But as I've said, he plays well when he's edgy. That's a dangerous Djokovic like that."
One of the main reasons credited for Djokovic's tumultuous relationship with the tennis public is the perception that he plays up injuries and uses on-court theatrics as a distraction when he's struggling in a match.
While Woodbridge has previously doubted the legitimacy of those claims, he agrees that the Serbian star can't match his two main rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for fans outside of Europe.
However he says it's false to characterise Djokovic as unpopular.
"If you barrack for Novak you do not barrack for anyone else," he said.
"They're out there and they're passionate and there are as many fans in Europe that go for him as there are the other two. But what happens for Roger and Rafa is that they have more of a global appreciation than what Novak does.
"But don't be fooled, he's got plenty out there."
Nadal handled his own recent injury crisis more openly.
"It's difficult to hide things," said Nadal, who had to reveal he was dealing with a bad back when he pulled out of the ATP Cup earlier this month.
"I mean, even if you want to hide, at some point you're going to have questions to answer. I don't want to play that game, honestly."
Serena Williams made surprise exits from Roland Garros before matches in 2018 (pectoral muscle) and last year (Achilles tendon), citing injuries she had avoided discussing. On Sunday, she casually made a passing reference to the Achilles having "been a problem since 2018," which was news to most everyone.
"A lot of players, after losing, they want to look gracious, so they say, 'Oh, no, I'm fine.' They're clearly not fine," Serena Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou said. "It's just to look good."
Mouratoglou also tweeted on Sunday night that he was skeptical of Djokovic having a muscle tear.
https://twitter.com/pmouratoglou/status/1360908427367604229
Back in 2008, during the US Open, Andy Roddick teased upcoming opponent Djokovic for seeking a trainer's help for hip, ankle, stomach and breathing problems during another match.
Joking about whether Djokovic's list of ailments also included bird flu, anthrax, SARS and a common cold, Roddick concluded: "He's either quick to call a trainer or he's the most courageous guy of all time."
With AP
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