«Novak Djokovic played the Australian Open with a 3cm injury to his thigh»- Corriere.it

Novak Djokovic’s in Melbourne was an exceptional triumph, but perhaps even more so given the conditions in which he arrived. Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia and director of the Australian Open, has revealed details about Nole’s physical conditions that make an impression.

“Djokovic,” he said Tiley at “Sportsday”, a radio format broadcast on the Sports Entertainment network – played with a one-inch tear in his left thigh. I have seen the ultrasounds, the doctors will tell you the truth. I think it’s difficult to think that he could have done what he did with a similar injury, but he dealt with the situation with extreme professionalism. Many of the problems surrounding him are related to the bad reputation he has, but I don’t think anyone can question his athletic qualities. Novak is always very concentrated in everything he does, in every single minute of the day: he is attentive to what he eats or drinks, what he does and how he does it, without ever pausing ».

Djokovic himself, during the run that led him to the conquest of his tenth title at the Australian Open – the twenty-second in a Grand Slam tournament, thus allowing him to hook Rafael Nadal – he had admitted the physical difficulties and the impossibility of training between one match and another. «I don’t think I have to prove anything to anyone – these are the words of the Serbian -. In the first week the injury conditioned me a lot, then from the round of 16 onwards I realized that he was behind me ». And he understood it, among others, also Goran Ivanisevic, his coach, who had already admitted on Sunday that «With a physical problem like this, 97% of tennis players would have canceled the tournament». Djokovic didn’t do it, and he even won it.