Novak Djokovic makes decision amid Australian Open withdrawal rumours
Novak Djokovic made the decision to miss another training session on Thursday amid rumours he could withdraw from the Australian Open.
Djokovic, set for a semi-final showdown against Alexander Zverev on Friday, picked up a nasty left leg injury in his win over Carlos Alcaraz.
The 37-year-old Serbian tennis legend hasn’t trained at Melbourne Park since, deciding to skip practice for the second day in a row on Thursday.
That has intensified rumours that Djokovic could withdraw from the Grand Slam tennis tournament ahead of his battle with Zverev in the last four.
Djokovic had booked Court 16 for a 90-minute training session with coach Andy Murray but then dramatically cancelled the reservation this morning.
He has now booked the same court for 1pm on Friday in a final attempt to get himself fit, just 90 minutes before his scheduled start against Zverev.
Djokovic, hoping to land a historic 25th major title, required strapping and painkillers in his quarter-final win over Alcaraz on Tuesday and admitted he was ‘concerned’ over the leg problem in his post-match press conference.
It should be noted that Djokovic has previously successfully defied tournament-threatening injuries, though, and may be able to play through the pain against Zverev.
At the Australian Open two years ago, Djokovic claimed he had a 3cm tear in his left hamstring, wearing strapping for every match until he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final to land the title.
Djokovic’s fans are convinced that he will not withdraw from the 2025 tournament ahead of his semi-final with Zverev.
One supporter, @DjokovicFan_, shared four reasons on social media why he thinks Djokovic will be fine to take on the German on Friday.
‘[Djokovic] had said after his last match that he was going to skip practice to prioritise rest and recovery,’ he posted on X. ‘He is [also] taking every precaution to make sure whatever happened does not happen again or get worse.
‘He has skipped practice many times in majors these past few years. He’s 37 and needs his rest too. He looked very good against Alcaraz from sets 2-4. It is almost impossible to beat Alcaraz with a serious injury as Alcaraz is just way too physical and good. I am confident he will be ready.’
Meanwhile, tennis icon John McEnroe faced criticism this week for suggesting that Djokovic had faked his injury against Alcaraz to gain an upper hand.
‘This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine,’ McEnroe said. ‘Don’t be fooled.’
Alcaraz dismissed those comments, insisting it was ‘obvious’ that his opponent Djokovic was struggling with injury during their match.
‘I think everybody saw in the second set he’s struggling a little bit moving,’ Alcaraz said. ‘I’m not saying, like, he made a show. It’s obvious and everybody saw it that he’s struggling in the second set.’
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