Boris Becker admits the situation regarding Novak Djokovic’s hamstring injury at the Australian Open “does not look promising” as he is wondering whether the Serb can win the title with such an injury. On Thursday, Djokovic required an off-court medical timeout during the second set of his 6-1 6-7 (5) 6-2 6-0 win over Enzo Couacaud.
“It doesn’t look promising. I had already said before the first match, he wouldn’t wear a bandage if he didn’t have anything. Today you could really see it – he had the physio come, kept stretching, went into the dressing room, put the bandage on again.
None of that is ideal. Now he has a day off, yet the question remains whether he can realistically win the tournament with such an injury,” Becker told Eurosport.
Becker fears Djokovic may not be able to win the title
Djokovic has been through to the third round and he would still need to win five matches in order to win the title.
In his next match, Djokovic plays against former world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov. Djokovic defeated Couacaud and Roberto Carballes Baena but now he is set for a real test. After beating Coaucaud, Djokovic admitted “it is not good at all” when asked about his hamstring.
“It’s not good at all, to be honest with you. I take it day to day. It was better last match, the feeling, than tonight. It’s really up to God to help me, and the physio and everyone. I hope I’ll be able to recover and be ready for a tough match-up next match,” Djokovic told Eurosport.
Two years ago, Djokovic sustained an abdominal injury during his Australian Open third-round match against Taylor Fritz. Still, Djokovic went on to win the Australian Open with an abdominal tear. Now, Djokovic is again hampered by an injury and trying to make it all the way at Melbourne Park.
