Over the last couple of days,
Novak Djokovic's injury has been one of the
Australian Open main topics, especially after Sunday's victory over Milos Raonic in four sets.
Novak experienced an abdomen injury against Taylor Fritz at the beginning of the third set, struggling to run or hit from his forehand side in the way he would want but recovering after getting broken in the fourth set. Feeling the pain, Djokovic somehow managed to find his strokes in the fourth set after that service game he gave away, losing it but standing strong in the decider to topple Fritz and continue the title quest.
Unsure whether he would be able to play against Raonic, Novak did his best to recover and step on the court against the Canadian, feeling much better and enduring a three-hour battle to prevail in four sets and advance into the quarters.
As was expected, many players were not pleased with how Novak found the strength again, saying that it couldn't be a torn muscle, as the Serb earlier suggested. Toni Nadal is among them, stating that Novak's recovery came over the night, despite thinking about withdrawing.
"Alongside Rafa, Novak Djokovic is also dealing with an injury, managing to beat Milos Raonic and reach the quarters. What surprises me is that Novak almost thought about withdrawing, and then the injury disappeared over the night. I will not question whether his pain is legitimate or not; that's a common thing among the athletes. But, he probably hides them more moderate than he should," Toni Nadal said.