Novak Djokovic releases strong statement after ‘worrying’ scenes | Tennis | Sport
Novak Djokovic has hit back at the reporting of a neck injury he received treatment for ahead of his first match at the Australian Open. The Serbian superstar has rubbished the suggestion that the problem disrupted his preparations as significantly as portrayed.
After spending time hitting with Daniil Medvedev on Rod Laver Arena, he later took to Court 10 for a second batch of training at 5pm. But Djokovic’s session was only brief after he required treatment on the back of his neck from his trainer.
Finding it difficult to serve, world No.4 Djokovic was treated by his physiotherapist, Miljan Amanovic, who massaged the back of his neck for several minutes in what some deemed as worrying scenes. The session did not resume, leading to more concerns.
The 38-year-old, however, has now fired back and claimed people are in search of drama. The Serb pointed out he trained following the incident, just not on court.
“I come here and see on the internet that the problem is that Miljan came to massage my neck or that we trained for 12 minutes,” Djokovic told Blic.
“No one mentions that we trained for two hours before that and then went to the gym again afterwards and that it only took those 15 minutes, that it didn’t take a whole hour.
“People made a story about it, and then a picture of him getting a massage and chaos ensues. Everything gets started, instead of making a healthy, constructive story, there are a lot of things they can write nicely about me, but they choose that.
“Why they choose that and who they are and why, we can talk about that until tomorrow…There must be some drama.”
The 10-time Aus Open champ faces Pedro Martinez in his opening match in Melbourne and has been back on the training courts. Training with Aleksandar Kovačević, Djokovic was scheduled to appear on court number 10 but saw a late swap to 17 after security saw the crowds awaiting his presence.
Djokovic trained for 90 minutes on this occasion, undertaking his final preparations before more rest and recovery.
The tennis legend is seeded fourth for the Australian Open and has won the tournament 10 times. His most recent victory came in 2023.
