Novak Djokovic drops ominous injury update to Australian Open rivals

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Novak Djokovic has admitted he’s in a similar position now to that of two years ago at the Australian Open when he lifted his ninth title in Melbourne Park with an abdominal tear. The Serbian raised some doubts on whether he would be fit to compete at the Australian Open this week after picking up a hamstring issue earlier this month.

He managed to play through the pain to win the Adelaide International title, but he’s limited his practice schedule at the Australian Open so far as to not aggravate the issue any further. The 21-time major champion didn’t appear to be struggling with any issues in his opening-round win over Roberto Carballes Baena.

Djokovic wrapped things up in a little over two hours, but tougher tests are set to come later in the tournament. How Djokovic’s body holds up remains to be seen and the Serbian has kept his cards close to his chest on the severity of the injury.

But, speaking in the Serbian section of his press conference, Djokovic admitted the injury is similar to the one he played with when he won his last Australian Open title. “Well, the situation is similar to the one two years ago here,” he said.

“I think I have told you everything by saying that.” Djokovic tore a muscle in his abdomen during his third-round match against Taylor Fritz two years ago, but managed to put together a schedule which made him able to cope with the pain.

And the 35-year-old has suggested he will likely need to work on a limited practice schedule for the remainder of the Australian Open to look after his leg. “When you do not have a lot of recovery time, you need to do everything in your power to be prepared – that means less practice and more rest,” he added.

“You have seen me practice on Monday, I was maybe at 50 per cent. In the warm-up ahead of the match, I tried to go harder and it was all right – not ideal, but all right.

“Let’s see what happens tomorrow when the effect of medications and anti-inflammatory pills vanishes. There is probably going to be a big inflammation.

“One day of rest between the matches at Slams gives me the possibility to regenerate, and the experience from two years ago helps me a lot. Also, it is a positive sign that my leg felt better in the third set – it is usually the other way around if the injury is worsening.“

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