Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of tennis great Rafael Nadal, has cast more shade on Novak Djokovic’s dramatic exit from the Australian Open.
Djokovic was controversially booed when he decided to pull out of his match with Alexander Zverev after losing a draining opening set in a tiebreak on Friday.
Eyebrows were already raised when Djokovic required several painkillers and strapping for an apparent hamstring injury during his fighting four-set quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz on the Tuesday night.
In that match, Alcaraz appeared to mock Djokovic’s injury, while commentator John McEnroe said he had seen it all before (Djokovic fighting off an injury to go on to win the match).
Now, Toni Nadal has weighed in, wondering why there was “such a protest in the stands” when Djokovic gave up on his match against Zverev without calling an injury time-out or seeing a physio.
“Firstly, I understand that the public showed their disappointment and anger at being deprived of the spectacle they had been expecting after having paid for it,” Nadal wrote for Spanish media outlet El Pais.
“The second and perhaps most significant reason is that over the years, there has been a growing suspicion around Novak, due to his expressions or histrionics, casting doubt on the authenticity of his injuries.
“When a player faces physical problems in such a match, they typically delay the decision to withdraw until the last moment.
“They call the physio, struggle through a few games with limitations and only when realising the inevitable, do they opt for retirement.
“On several occasions, we have seen Novak with similar performances, using facial expressions and body language that contradict what we see on the court, raising doubts about the authenticity of his issues.”
While Nadal understood the crowd’s disappointment, he also took aim at those who booed.
“I believe that a great champion like the Serbian, someone who has contributed to writing the most glorious pages of tennis history, should not depart in this manner from any court and even less so from the Rod Laver Arena, where he holds the records for victories and titles,” he wrote.
“Respect, this is my personal feeling, he truly deserves in that difficult moment, without a doubt, of having to leave the court that has seen him triumph so many times.
“I can only imagine how hard it must have been for him to have to accept such an adverse reaction from the public.
“If it is already difficult to accept that one cannot continue fighting, it must be much more difficult if this is accompanied by the public’s incomprehension.
“I hope that the Serbian tennis player recovers well and that we can continue to admire his incredible game throughout the rest of the year, but also that he succeeds in transmitting to the public the confidence that a champion of his immense stature should have more than earned.”
Djokovic has already defended himself and took the unusual step of posting a scan of his injured left hamstring on social media.
“Towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain,” he said last week.
“Unfortunate ending, but I tried.
“I know how my body works, what I feel, and I know how much I’ve given to this tournament in the past 20-plus years.
“I will stop here so that I don’t continue (speaking) in the wrong direction.”
– With AAP
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au