Novak Djokovic’s injury opens the door for Andy Murray to dominate Australian Open
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s rivalry has extended to who cna recover from injuries quicker, with the latest developments being staggering.
Novak Djokovic hadn’t been on the tennis courts for four and a half months, but started practicing a few weeks ago in anticipation for his return at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition competition. Although rumors plagued him during practice sessions in Monte Carlo that he still showed signs of dealing with an injury in practice, once he got to Abu Dhabi for the exhibition, those rumors seemed to die down after witnesses claimed he looked fit and ready for full competition.
But the Serb dispelled the myth with a surprise withdrawal and admission that his elbow injury was still a major cause for concern.
“Unfortunately, in the past few days I started to feel pain in the elbow and after several tests, my medical team has advised me not to risk anything, to withdraw from the tournament and to immediately continue with the therapies,” he said in a statement.
No one doubted his drive, but the body just doesn’t seem to be cooperating.
“I am very sad because I was eager to return to playing official matches,” Djokovic continued.
But you know who is participating? Andy Murray.
Many were doubting Murray’s chances to compete at the Australian Open after he withdrew from this tournament. Still insisting that he planned to play his first ATP competition in Brisbane next week, several tennis experts were thinking he wasn’t fit enough and should put plans to enter competitive tennis back on hold. However, he is ignoring those critics and not only going ahead with Brisbane—a warm-up event to the Australian Open—but it turns out his stop-over in Abu Dhabi isn’t a casual visit: he has decided to play Mubadala after all and will take over Djokovic’s spot in a match against Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-final scheduled Friday.
This is certainly an interesting turn of events. Between the two, several people had been saying that Nole was in stronger competitive shape than the Scot, but in a complete role reversal, the tennis world will be eagerly watching the match between Murry and world No. 20 Agut to see how ready the Brit is.
Between Djokovic and Murray—so similar in their career turns in the last two years—it now looks like the world No. 16 is in stronger shape and is turning towards competitive tennis to prove he is still a contender, even while building back up from his hip injury sabbatical.
For Murray, his comeback will be viewed one tournament at a time. Considering that he is still not playing at 100 percent, he will likely not impress anyone until he builds up his strength as he continues to compete. Depending on how he does at Mubadala and then Brisbane, fans will get to see how ready he is for the first grand slam of the year.
What is now likely is that world No. 12 Djokovic will skip the first grand slam. This is a shame since he holds the record here for the most Australian Open titles (6) in the Open Era—a record Roger Federer will be zeroing in on since he stands the strongest to capitalize with all the absences (including Nadal, who has withdrawn from Brisbane—a bad sign). Federer has five titles Down Under and is now the favorite to capture his sixth.
“I am very sad because I was eager to return to playing official matches. I enjoyed the practices and everything I did to get ready for the start of the season, including the tournament in Abu Dhabi, where I always enjoy playing,” Djokovic stated.
“Now I need to accept this situation, and to wait for the results of the therapies, in order to start playing tennis again and getting back to full rhythm.
“This might affect the start of the season and the tournament plan, but the decision will be made in the following days.”
A withdrawal from the Australian Open is likely, disappointing fans anticipating his comeback. There is no indication when we can expect him to return to competitive tennis, based on the prognosis on his problematic elbow.