Novak Djokovic’s injury: Real or Fake? – Tennis Special
The 2011 season started with a sizzling Serbian working his way up the rankings as well as clearing up all the hurdles, tours, in his way.
Novak Djokovic, world No.1, entered the Australian Open, Grand Slam, cleaning up with a 7 match run and went on defeating the Brit, Andy Murray, to hold the first silver. Aged 24, the sparkler continued with his run as he followed
entering the Dubai Open, an ATP Tour 500, the following month. This was the first time Djokovic ‘Djokered’ the then world No.2, Roger Federer in the finals and added another 500 points to his rankings.
Although the Serbian made history beating the top three in the 2007 Rogers Cup, he still had the top spot in his view. Bent on achieving his dream in 2011, Djokovic conquered the season opening masters, Madrid, Rome and Miami beating
the world No.1, Rafa, and claimed the 2nd spot.
Standing with a 46-0 winning streak, Djokovic went on against the Swiss Maestro for the second time in the season at the Roland Garros Open; however, the Serbian lost the semi-final round ending his run to 46-1.
Ranked 2nd in the world, Djokovic entered the Wimbledon Open 2011. The Serbian confused the gurus and the better that who might win the Grand Slam. With a astonishing performance the Serbian completed a 53-1 run when
he blew up ‘Rafa' snatching away the grand slam and the pole position and finally made under the spotlight.
Increasing his run to 64-1, the world No.1 came across the Brit, Andy Murray, for the second time in the season at the Cincinnati Masters Final. Surprising the fans, the Serbian lost the match as he quit due to a shoulder injury.
Some critics say that he pulled out so that he could play the US Open, the final grand slam of the season, easily.
When interviewed after the match the Serbian said: “It has been there for about 10 days. Pain was increasing. I apologize to the tournament; I apologize to the people who came here today to watch…I really tried. I just could not
serve. I could not play forehands. I could have maybe played another couple of games, but what for? I cannot beat a player like Murray today with one stroke.”
Entering the US Open, the world No.1 shined again beating Rafa for the fourth time in the season maintaining his win loss record this season, the Serbian continued as he entered the Davis cup world Group stages. However, the Serbian
proved disappointing as he ruled out of the match against Juan Martin Del Potro due to a severe back injury.
With tears for letting his team down, Djokovic quoted in an interview after the match, “I have a partial tear of a back muscle which needs rest and it is hard to say how much time off I need after only one exam, we will determine
that in the days to come." He further added that "What is certain is that I will not endanger my health to play in one or two tournaments."
The injury has held the world No.1 from China Open as well as Shanghai Masters, however, even if the top seeds win the masters, the Serbian would still remain at the comfortable shining top position.
However, critics and Djoker-haters cannot help but speculate whether the Serb’s injury is real or just his easy pass to get away from losing matches. Given the evidence, with the exception of the 2011 Roland Garros semi-final,
Djoker has always claimed retirement from a match that he has been losing. One cannot help but wonder, if the Serb could have played through the pain in the 2011 US Open final against the pinnacle of fitness, Nadal, then he could have just as easily made it
through against DelPo at the Davis Cup and Murray in Cincinnati. It's true what they say, success and fame always comes with a heavy cost.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and have nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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