Nole's Injury?

[lacatch]

He alluded to it in response to a question at his post-match press conference, but said he wouldn't go into any details; also didn't want to take away from Sam's victory. Has anyone heard ANYTHING more about his condition?

 

[Puppet Master]

I wish everyone was as injured as he is. How can you believe it when nothing was particularly wrong with him when he faced Querrey? He made a few more unforced errors than usual, and Querrey should take full credit for putting him under so much pressure. That is all. If you are alluding to any decline, it happens, he is 29 after all. Both Fed and Nadal had some catastrophic losses at 29 years of age.

 

[Front242]

Yeah, his condition is he lost. It happens. There are rumours that he's saying he has a shoulder injury but who knows. Might be just a convenient way to say why he lost. He was almost beaten by Anderson last year so there was probably no injury.

https://www.thestar.com/sports/tennis/2016/07/02/vunerable-novak-djokovic-ousted-at-wimbledon-dimanno.html

 

[Kieran]

Well he mentioned it but then promptly told us he didn't want to talk about it, and take anything away from his opponent. So he's just like the rest of 'em in that regard.

Then he kept touching his left shoulder as if to say, I'm not going to talk about this shoulder right here, the one I keep touching that obviously affects me. Not gonna mention it! Don't want to take anything away from Sam, who won fair and square.

Then he held his shoulder for the rest of the interview.

Not sure what injury people are talking about, so... :laydownlaughing

 

[Backhand_DTL]

There have been rumours of him having neck and/or shoulder problems since the clay season. Even if that's the case I don't think it's too serious but the quality of his serve recently seems down compared to especially last year, so there might be some truth to it.

Additionally there might be signs that Novak is mentally a bit burnt out right now. It started in Monte Carlo where after his loss he said that he didn't really feel ready to compete on clay yet and his bad mood in Rome after not having much to prove anymore because of winning Madrid could have been another hint.

Compared to last year Novak's level in the big matches is probably about the same or maybe even slightly better, but he doesn't seem to be able to fight as hard in every set or match when having an off day and adjust as quickly to a new surface this year as in the years before. With the French Open finally in his bag now it's very possible that at the moment he lacks some of the drive he had before, but especially the Olympics is an event that should inspire him, so his play on the American Hard Courts will probably tell a lot about his physical and mental state.

 

[Front242]

People are making too big a deal out of this. If not for the rain delay last year he would've probably lost to Anderson as well. Big servers are tricky on grass and can beat anyone on any given day. Although I prefer Mahut's game about a thousand times more than Querrey's, at least for the first time in ages we have a guy who caused a huge upset winning his next match so kudos to him for that. Shows he's playing very well and deserves full credit for his win against Novak.

 

[El Dude]

By mentioning it at all he took something away from his opponent. It was his way of saying "Sam played well and I'm a good sportsman, but we all know I lost because of an injury."


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[Backhand_DTL]

People are making too big a deal out of this. If not for the rain delay last year he would've probably lost to Anderson as well. Big servers are tricky on grass and can beat anyone on any given day. Although I prefer Mahut's game about a thousand times more than Querrey's, at least for the first time in ages we have a guy who caused a huge upset winning his next match so kudos to him for that. Shows he's playing very well and deserves full credit for his win against Novak.

The delay last year was because of darkness and probably helped Anderson much more. Anderson served and moved not as good anymore and Novak returned a lot better in sets 3 and 4, so it's unlikely that this trend would have been reversed out of nowhere again, while on the next day Anderson pretty much served like in the first two sets and was holding quite easily until 5:5 as well as also putting more pressure on Novak's serve than in the two sets before.

Comparing the matches the way Novak lost the second set this year is the biggest difference and a reason for a bit of concern in my opinion, as he didn't put up any resistance while the score could have easily been something like 3:3 before the rain if he would have been up for a fight.

I think that Novak by usually forcing quite a high level of play and intensity from his opponents to take sets from him even when he is off his game makes them dropping their level afterwards more likely and bouncing back considerably easier for him. This year I can remember results like a 2:6 against Fratangelo, a 0:6 against Bellucci or now the 1:6 against Querrey from the top of my head, so he seems to be more willing to simply let go of sets when he feels he's playing badly.

By mentioning it at all he took something away from his opponent. It was his way of saying "Sam played well and I'm a good sportsman, but we all know I lost because of an injury."

But you have to consider he was directly asked if he was 100% healthy and didn't simply mention it out of nowhere.

Actually something similar happened after he lost the semi final against Roger 2012 where he said he wasn't feeling that well that day and the days before when asked about that in the press conference but refused to go into detail. And I don't think he ever brought up anything specific in that regard afterwards which took something away from Roger's win.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I obviously have no access to the truth of the matter. However, I personally think that Novak's loss is more due to burn out, lack of motivation and drive etc rather than due to any physical frailties real or imagined. But, this is understandable, considering he has just won Novak Slam and achieved something neither Fed or nor Rafa achieved and is coming off that high.

It is sad that he had to mention that he is not 100% fit in his interview. Having said that, he is not alone in doing so. :nono

 

[lob]

By mentioning it at all he took something away from his opponent. It was his way of saying "Sam played well and I'm a good sportsman, but we all know I lost because of an injury."


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That's a bit harsh. Novak has long been more gracious in loss than any of the 'big 4'. Just look at his handshake with Querrey at the end. The guy just won four straight slams and he is the defending champion. It's a third round loss...it's a hard blow to take at least until he gets through that day. How do you expect him to react to a question like that? Clearly he couldn't bring his best game as evidenced by the second set and we all know that he is a bit burnt out. What he said sounds like a defence mechanism.....and even if he was just making it up, I can't blame him for making an attempt to not be seen as slipping..the tour smells blood very quickly...

Compare that to how Roger reacted to losing to Berdych in 2010. Or how Rafa reacted after the Soderling match...

 

[El Dude]

I agree that Novak is a very gracious loser. But my point is simply that by mentioning a possible injury at all, rather than saying something like "I was healthy enough," it undermine's Querrey's victory a bit. No biggie, though.

 

[Front242]

By mentioning it at all he took something away from his opponent. It was his way of saying "Sam played well and I'm a good sportsman, but we all know I lost because of an injury."


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That's a bit harsh. Novak has long been more gracious in loss than any of the 'big 4'. Just look at his handshake with Querrey at the end. The guy just won four straight slams and he is the defending champion. It's a third round loss...it's a hard blow to take at least until he gets through that day. How do you expect him to react to a question like that? Clearly he couldn't bring his best game as evidenced by the second set and we all know that he is a bit burnt out. What he said sounds like a defence mechanism.....and even if he was just making it up, I can't blame him for making an attempt to not be seen as slipping..the tour smells blood very quickly...

Compare that to how Roger reacted to losing to Berdych in 2010. Or how Rafa reacted after the Soderling match...

Yeah, Roger seemed fine out there in 2010 and was just beaten and I was annoyed he mentioned having a dodgy back then and likewise there was nothing wrong with Nadal against Soderling as evidenced by how he hammered Hewitt the match before. They can all be sore losers which I don't like. Saying your opponent played very well but that you had some physical ailment 100% detracts from their win imo. If you're on the court playing you should be considered fit. Of course some dopes like Nishikori play with broken/bruised ribs but that guy is made of glass.

 

[Kieran]

I think Novak was very determined to state that he was skipping DC. That was out of his mouth before the question was finished. I think a few nights rest in his home bed will cure that injury that we're grateful he didn't talk about...

 

[Backhand_DTL]

I agree that Novak is a very gracious loser. But my point is simply that by mentioning a possible injury at all, rather than saying something like "I was healthy enough," it undermine's Querrey's victory a bit. No biggie, though.

Here's the exchange from the press conference:

Q. We're so used to seeing you play so consistently, at such a high level. Today your serve and backhand were not the way they usually are. Was there a reason for that? Were you 100% healthy?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really. But, you know, it's not the place and time to talk about it. Again, the opponent was playing on a very high level and he deserved to win.

Q. Were you concerned coming into the match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. Why would I be?

Q. No reason for any concern?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. We saw you practicing this morning on Court 14. You didn't seem yourself. What were you thinking this morning?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I just said, I just don't want to talk about it. Please respect that. Thank you.

I think once the first of those questions was asked Novak had three options:

1. Deny any health problems (which might have been dishonest and would look bad on him if he would reveal something about it later)
2. Explain the extent of the injury/illness (which might take a lot of Querrey's win away and signal vulnerability to the field for the near future)
3. React the way he did

In my opinion his answers show, that he didn't intend to bring it up as an excuse and was keen on talking about it as little as possible. So if there really was some kind of physical problem I don't think there was a way to handle those questions much better.

 

[isabelle]

I guess he's at least exhausted and fed up of tennis for the moment, he said he was happy to have a family to offer him a nice break, he said he really needed to have some rest before OG. nothing about a possible injury as far I'm concerned

 

[nehmeth]

By mentioning it at all he took something away from his opponent. It was his way of saying "Sam played well and I'm a good sportsman, but we all know I lost because of an injury."


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That's a bit harsh. Novak has long been more gracious in loss than any of the 'big 4'. Just look at his handshake with Querrey at the end.

Compare that to how Roger reacted to losing to Berdych in 2010. Or how Rafa reacted after the Soderling match...

Yep, they have all done it at one time or another.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I agree that Novak is a very gracious loser. But my point is simply that by mentioning a possible injury at all, rather than saying something like "I was healthy enough," it undermine's Querrey's victory a bit. No biggie, though.

Here's the exchange from the press conference:

Q. We're so used to seeing you play so consistently, at such a high level. Today your serve and backhand were not the way they usually are. Was there a reason for that? Were you 100% healthy?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really. But, you know, it's not the place and time to talk about it. Again, the opponent was playing on a very high level and he deserved to win.

Q. Were you concerned coming into the match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. Why would I be?

Q. No reason for any concern?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. We saw you practicing this morning on Court 14. You didn't seem yourself. What were you thinking this morning?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I just said, I just don't want to talk about it. Please respect that. Thank you.

I think once the first of those questions was asked Novak had three options:

1. Deny any health problems (which might have been dishonest and would look bad on him if he would reveal something about it later)
2. Explain the extent of the injury/illness (which might take a lot of Querrey's win away and signal vulnerability to the field for the near future)
3. React the way he did

In my opinion his answers show, that he didn't intend to bring it up as an excuse and was keen on talking about it as little as possible. So if there really was some kind of physical problem I don't think there was a way to handle those questions much better.

If he really had physical injuries, I would agree with you that he has handled the questions in a proper manner. He did not bring it up by himself. He only responded to the questions and kept the talk about it minimal.

However, it does not appear that he actually had any physical issues and it is more of a burn out, lack of drive created by enormous success etc. If he does not have any real injuries and if he had used the opportunity created by the question to say that he is not 100% (just to make sure that the field does not think his drive has deteriorated), that is bad.

Actual injuries is one thing and being less than 100% in fitness is another thing. As an athlete and a tennis player, people often participate being less than 100% fit and they should not make an issue of it after having decided to do it.

 

[shawnbm]

Maybe Nole's answer during the presser concerned his MENTAL health not being 100%.

 

[Backhand_DTL]

I agree that Novak is a very gracious loser. But my point is simply that by mentioning a possible injury at all, rather than saying something like "I was healthy enough," it undermine's Querrey's victory a bit. No biggie, though.

Here's the exchange from the press conference:

Q. We're so used to seeing you play so consistently, at such a high level. Today your serve and backhand were not the way they usually are. Was there a reason for that? Were you 100% healthy?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really. But, you know, it's not the place and time to talk about it. Again, the opponent was playing on a very high level and he deserved to win.

Q. Were you concerned coming into the match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. Why would I be?

Q. No reason for any concern?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. We saw you practicing this morning on Court 14. You didn't seem yourself. What were you thinking this morning?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I just said, I just don't want to talk about it. Please respect that. Thank you.

I think once the first of those questions was asked Novak had three options:

1. Deny any health problems (which might have been dishonest and would look bad on him if he would reveal something about it later)
2. Explain the extent of the injury/illness (which might take a lot of Querrey's win away and signal vulnerability to the field for the near future)
3. React the way he did

In my opinion his answers show, that he didn't intend to bring it up as an excuse and was keen on talking about it as little as possible. So if there really was some kind of physical problem I don't think there was a way to handle those questions much better.

If he really had physical injuries, I would agree with you that he has handled the questions in a proper manner. He did not bring it up by himself. He only responded to the questions and kept the talk about it minimal.

However, it does not appear that he actually had any physical issues and it is more of a burn out, lack of drive created by enormous success etc. If he does not have any real injuries and if he had used the opportunity created by the question to say that he is not 100% (just to make sure that the field does not think his drive has deteriorated), that is bad.

Actual injuries is one thing and being less than 100% in fitness is another thing. As an athlete and a tennis player, people often participate being less than 100% fit and they should not make an issue of it after having decided to do it.

Yes, if he only used it as a chance to establish the thought he just lost because he wasn't completely fit it would be bad style. But before he already extensively praised Querrey's serving and aggressive play. Also at least since 2011 he usually tries to show as little vulnerability as possible in public and denying any issues would have had the benefit that he wouldn't have to answer questions on this topic whenever he plays next, so I think he just felt it would have been wrong to declare himself 100% healthy when he got that question.

The way he reacted to those questions leaves it pretty much open, if he alluded to an injury, illness or maybe even mental or personal issues. It will be interesting if something specific is revealed within the next weeks/months but if not I don't think that Novak's remarks take anything away from Querrey's win.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Would there be a need for this thread if Novak had won again