Djokovic: “If this was not a Grand Slam, I would have retired”

Novak Djokovic continues ahead at the Australian Open after beating Canadian Milos Raonic in the round of 16 of the tournament. The Serbian looked somewhat better from the abdominal discomfort he suffered during his third round match against Taylor Fritz and in which he barely managed to win.

Djokovic confessed that the injury could cause him greater damage but that the painkillers have helped him play without pain, although he does not know if he has a more serious injury. “It's kind of a gamble. That's what my medical team told me. It's very unpredictable. It could cause me more damage than now, but it can also go in a good direction. So it's something I don't know and I don't think I will know until I stop taking painkillers. As long as I'm still on a high dose of painkillers, I can still handle the pain. But the tricky thing about pain relievers is that they hide what's happening to me and I may not feel it, but it could do a lot of harm. “

The Serbian came to recognize that if this situation had occurred in another type of tournament, he would have given up because of these discomforts and that right now he is prioritizing his recovery over the preparation of the matches. “If it had been another tournament and it wasn't a Grand Slam I would have retired, without a doubt. But it is a Grand Slam, I want to do my best and jump on the track and recover. A few hours before hitting the court, during the warm-up, I didn't know if I was going to play or not. I did not hit any tennis balls yesterday (for Saturday). I tried to take advantage of every hour to recover and give myself a chance to be on the track, something that I have finally done. But somehow I found a way to win and that's the most important thing. Now I have another 40 hours of rest until the next game, which is good in a Grand Slam. You have a day and a half to rest. I don't think I will train tomorrow (for today) and I will continue with my recovery routine to see if things improve. “

Finally, Djokovic believes that these annoyances will not cause him serious damage throughout the season. “I spoke a lot with my medical team and also with the Australian Open team and they all have the opinion that there is a very small possibility that it will cause me serious harm and leave me out of the circuit for a long time. There is always the risk of injury. get worse, but I don't think it's too bad to jeopardize the season. I don't know how far I'll go with the injury or how far I'll go in the tournament. I still have three possible matches left and it will be more difficult for me on the court. “