Novak Djokovic’s long-time coach Marjan Vajda explained his injury concerns. The world no.1 won his 9th Australian Open (18th slam) in Melbourne, but that came at a cost as Djokovic was left with a nasty abdominal injury. Therefore the 18-time slam champion will have to adopt a reduced schedule to get ready and fit to conquer his 2nd French Open later in 2021.
The injury and his coach
Djokovic got injured in the 3rd round of the Australian Open before defeating Taylor Fritz 7-61 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2. Originally, the abdominal tear was 1.7 cm, but after a second scan, they found it increased to 2.5 cm.
During a recent interview with Serbian outlet Kurir, Marjan Vajda admitted that he was worried about the injury.
“We need to see what his calendar will look like. I’m worried about reports of his injury. We will certainly reduce the number of tournaments. His health must be most important to us. I think I will travel to Dubai to see him, and I will certainly be with him at Roland Garros,” said Vajda.
Djokovic and the French Open
Novak Djokovic will try to win his 2nd French Open (and 19th slam) in Paris this year. In 2020 he was stopped again in the final by an inspired Rafael Nadal that won 6-0 6-2 7-5 before winning his 13th Roland Garros. According to Goran Ivanisevic, also Djokovic’s coach, Novak’s problem in the final was that the world no.1 didn’t want to “suffer” against the King of Clay trying to shorten the points too much.
Novak Djokovic in 2021
Currently ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 21st of February when he beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-2 6-2 in the final of the Australian Open to win his 82nd career title.
Currently, during this year Djokovic owns an overall 9-0 win-loss record. Novak conquered 1 title at the Australian Open.
