Novak Djokovic still managed to get to Australia this season. The controversial story of a Serb who stood his ground, not wanting to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, characterizes him as a man of his word.

However, Novak is not so principled in everything. At least in the opinion of fans and tennis players, the 21-time Grand Slam winner often feigns injuries, thereby knocking down the mood of his rivals.

Even top players suspect the legend of cheating.

Spread a straw

Many remember how, in January 2021, the Serb won his ninth Australian Open with a stomach injury. Then he had a muscle strain in the second round match against American Taylor Fritz:

– I know for sure that this is a muscle strain. I don’t know if I can recover in two days. I don’t know if I’ll go to court in the next match, ”Novak said then after a difficult five-set duel.

But after such a start of the tournament, he was more and more confident with each match, while continuing to pedal the issue of his injury. The public even had a firm belief that Djokovic was being disingenuous: well, you can’t win so easily with such a serious injury.

Photo: © Andy Cheung / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Last year, the 35-year-old Serb was not allowed into his favorite tournament, but now he is ready to take the title again. In addition, this time the grid is much more pleasant for him: almost all the favorites have already taken off.

However, Novak seemed to have decided to recall the experience of two years ago and again followed a successful scenario. Before the start of the competition, he had a problem with his hip, because of which he was forced to change the training program and training in general. Well, during the first week, in a familiar manner, he began to warm up his rivals:

– The situation is similar to the one in which I was here two years ago. I think that says it all, ”the Serb admitted, speaking of a leg injury.

“Who wants to doubt, let him doubt”

Already in the third round match against the Bulgarian Dimitrov, Djokovic moved from words to deeds: he took two whole medical timeouts during the game, and the first one fell on the most intense part of the confrontation – immediately after the first set won in a tie-break.

As Carreno-Busta said, if Novak took a medical time-out, it means that the matter will end with his victory. The sign came true again: the fifth racket of the world won the next two sets much more calmly.

Photo: © Quinn Rooney / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Of course, the Serb could not pass by another criticism in his address and tried to oppose himself to the entire Tour:

“Only my injuries are questionable. When other players are injured, they are the victims, but when I am, I feign. It’s very interesting…” Novak laments.

As arguments, he cites the MRI scans, ultrasound and other examinations that he has, confirming the severity of the abdominal injury two years ago and its current condition. True, he is not yet ready to show them to the public, which, you see, is strange.

Exaggerates the severity of the injury

Unexpectedly, Taylor Fritz also spoke out with his vision of the situation, taking off in the second round from the Australian Popyrin, who received the wild card:

– My opinion, which probably does not bother anyone – 80 percent of the players are always faced with something. The media always focuses only on the leading guys, so their problems get more attention. In addition, some players are more vocal about injuries than others. I am not attacking any of the players, so please do not defend yourself,” the American wrote on the social network.

Photo: © Quinn Rooney / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The publication appeared a few hours after the words of Djokovic, so in the absence of a connection between these two facts, it is hard to believe. Yes, and Taylor himself remembers the match two years ago against Djokovic, from which the mysterious story of the Serb’s abdominal muscle strain and his path to the next title began.

Of course, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of Novak for world tennis, but such talk does not paint a player going for his 22nd Grand Slam and a repeat of Nadal’s achievement. The current Australian Open, Djokovic is able to win without such tricks.