Well if you have ever had back spasms there is no explanation needed. As a long time back sufferer, it was evident in his movement prior to the FH stroke his back was not right. Tennis players achilles heal, ugh. Take care Nole and toss that ball further out in front on your serve after you heal up.

September 19th, 2011 at 1:46 am

Skeezer, I’ve had a fragile back for some years, and like you I can testify that spasms are grim.
Human back trouble, like a number of ailments that beset us (such as sinus problems and hernias), is a result of standing up on two legs. We should never have done it!

September 19th, 2011 at 3:50 am

Well congrats to Del Po, congrats to my Nole too!
Nole went injured on the court before the match started, it was clear if you saw look on Jelenas (his girlfriend) face before the match. Still great display from Del Potro, Nole said that he can’t tell if he would win even if he was at 100%, great serving from Del Po. Nole proved that at his 60% he can handle most top ten players which amazes me.
I wish he never played this match. It was clear that we would loose if Troicki in this form was to play, but Noles health should be priority for all tennis fans in Serbia. I’m just sorry that I won’t be able to watch Nole play Nadal in Arena in finals… Serbia is one of the rare teams that could have stopped Spain this year. I will root for Argentina in the finals because they are such a heavy underdog in Spain. But it is tennis who knows what will happen. Now Nole will have a chance to concentrate on London this year! Hope he gets well on his 100% soon!

September 19th, 2011 at 6:12 am

He faked his injuries, whenever he is beaten badly! Just like what he did in Cincy, when he was crush in Cincy! So he was really hurt, how he could mangaged to win the US Open? The ego thingy got into him these days! He would has alot to defend next year! His career might ends earlier than we expected!

September 19th, 2011 at 6:55 am

Shame the Djoker didn’t have the EGG to help him out!!!

September 19th, 2011 at 7:59 am

“So he was really hurt, how he could mangaged to win the US Open?”
Barely.

September 19th, 2011 at 9:14 am

I echo posts on the other thread that someone should have INSISTED novak not play, and its a bit sad that didn’t happen.
I read he is out 4 weeks with intercostal muscle strain, sure it probably would have been about the same if he didn’t play, but I don’t like that he had to suffer retirement in Davis cup semi carried off the court, etc. Would have been better just for troicki to play and at least complete the match.
Get well to novak :)

September 19th, 2011 at 9:25 am

Speaking of Davis cup, kudos to to stan who really was the man this time, winning the5-set, light- suspended 5th live rubber to get Suisse back to world group. And Canada’s Pospisil winning all three points for his team to get back to world group! I was reminded this weekend that it was he and raonic who took out rafa/Nole doubles at, what was it, Toronto last year. Good kids.
But, man are those novak rafa love days OVER.

September 19th, 2011 at 9:29 am

coming up :

best actor in a lead role for drama. – mr fakovic.

September 19th, 2011 at 9:53 am

Rick, I don’t usually wish anyone ill, but I rather hope you get back spasms one of these days, just so you’ll know what they’re like.
Furthermore, could you put your giant intellect to the task of answering this: if Nole was faking an injury in Cincy, why was he serving at ridiculously low speed throughout the match, BEFORE he retired?

September 19th, 2011 at 10:36 am

Just shows what a glory-hungry Serb he is. He deprived his team-mate from competing knowing full well that he wasn’t at full speed. Hungry for heroism. Typical!! Well he paid the price.

September 19th, 2011 at 11:32 am

Poor Nole; you can see how crushed he is; I have seen him in tears only once before after/during a match, and it was when he lost the gold medal match to Rafa at the Olympics (that badly missed overhead smash probably still haunts him). When he plays for his country and in front of his home fans, it clearly means a lot. I reminds me of Muzza tearing up during the last DC round in front of the Scottish crowd. These guys don’t often get to compete for others besides themselves, so it has added pressure but also meaning.

September 19th, 2011 at 1:01 pm

hi dari, can you tell me where you read that about 4 weeks? also, congrats to you on the Swiss team win, and woot for us Canucks! :) Did you get to see Fed when you went to the USO?

September 19th, 2011 at 1:11 pm

If he is truly injured ,he has my smpathy,but I am a doubter,he did not go down on his knees holding his back but to his knees with his head on the ground with bottom up,seems to me he was faking again.He will now rest,not go to China and has all the time in the world to prepare for the year end atp tour in London where he will demolish all because he is rested,he has done the same before,many times.He needs to grow up.If he is really injured,I apologise.

September 19th, 2011 at 1:21 pm

I found it dari; he has a partial muscle tear in his back, and will be out for a month according to tennisworldusa.org:

“Novak Djokovic won’t play tennis for at least a month, it has been revealed. The Serb injured himself in a Davis Cup match over the weekend, and says he needs time to heal before returning to the circuit.

“Not as serious as we have thought,” Djokovic said of the injury on Monday. “It’s a partial rupture of a back muscle that deserves rest. I won’t risk the worsening of the injury and that’s why it is hard to predict for how long I will rest.”

He will likely miss the Asian swing of the ATP Tour, which includes tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai.”

September 19th, 2011 at 1:23 pm

A bad and a good news. He needs time to heal and rest.

On some fora I read a lot of insinuations about doping. I made some calculations:

Rafa and Nole have played, effectively, less than 50 mn. Doesn’t seem to much. Then, they have hit the ball about 900 times each. A middleweight boxer throws about 700 to 800 times in a 12 rounds match.

And then, I also managed to read Rafa’s book, “diagonally”. Just have changed my mind about a few things.

But after reading the book, my esteem of Nadal is only higher.

@Jane: Rafa “wrote” it when he was still a good pal with Nole.

September 19th, 2011 at 1:41 pm

jane:

novak never played for the gold medal. please dont make things up. that was a semi-final.

what is the record for maximum number of retirements by a number one ranked player? retirovic seems to be gunning for that one.

September 19th, 2011 at 1:57 pm

^ how many times are u going to change your poster neame to say Novak sucks? Jealousy and hurt of his success must cut deep…

September 19th, 2011 at 2:19 pm

novak’s success hurts me? or do his retirements make an @$$ out of his supporters? i think i know the answer :)

September 19th, 2011 at 2:41 pm

jane –

Rafa played the gold medal match against Fernando Gonzalez (whom people seem to be forgetting was also injured during this past Davis Cup weekend … and for those interested, he also has a myofascial tear in the one of the vastus muscles in his left leg and swelling in the adductor, and the medical experts say it will probably take 10 days to heal).

September 19th, 2011 at 2:42 pm

M/ Egg, that semi-final was, for all practical purposes, the gold medal match.

September 19th, 2011 at 2:53 pm

no disrespect intended to forehando ofcourse.

September 19th, 2011 at 2:54 pm

Jane, as a member of the swiss Davis cup team, I accept your congratulations. ;)
I did see fed it was terrific. I personally purchased tickets for ONE Arthur ashe session, the rest was Armstrong and given by work and it turned out that the one session I bought was Mr. Federer’s. I managed to miss novak, who I really wanted to see.
Did you also see he is part of the Mercedes Benz ambassador team now?
His back may be hurting, but the real cause is all the money bags he’s carrying this year!

http://www.onthegotennis.com/home/photos-novak-djokovic-ambassador-for-mercedes-benz.html

September 19th, 2011 at 3:10 pm

Stu, why should tennis players play matches if we could pencil in the matches ourselves?

your thinking is in the same frequency as the serbian captain, you just dont earn matches based on your rep. you actually have to play it as well.

September 19th, 2011 at 3:31 pm

M, thanks for clarifying. I hope we see a little more of Fernando before he calls it a career. I should have been clearer. They were playing FOR the gold medal match, i.e., whoever won would go on to play for gold or silver (so while it was not the gold medal match per se, it did give the winner the shot to win gold). My point was more to do with his emotional reaction then, which was the only other time I saw him as emotional as he was the other day – and both times he was playing for his country.

mat4, do you recommend Rafa’s book then? I don’t have time to read it now, but I could get it out of the library when I have some free reading time.

dari, good! I am glad you got to see your fave. Nole has made the big bucks this year for sure; I guess he’s broken an earning record or something with all of his wins this year, and that’s apart from sponsorships. Not sure if you saw, but he is a Unicef ambassador for early childhood education now. Also saw that Roger, Nole and Rafa are donating their gear to help flood victims.

September 19th, 2011 at 3:56 pm

@Jane:

About the book: I think there are a lot of insights about contemporary tennis and the psychology of some players, especially Nadal (ofcourse), Federer and Djokovic.

Parts were written in the first person, and I think they are good. I have to add that I didn’t read any other book about a tennis player, so it is just my point of view, to take cum grano salis.

September 19th, 2011 at 4:49 pm

Thanks mat4. I have Agassi’s “Open” but haven’t finished it (set it aside to do work) but it is good; very dramatic. You get a sense of why he makes that statement that he hated tennis. Great description in the beginning of his last matches, including that infamous one at the USO with Baggy and all the cramping. Funny in parts too: “vork your wolleys!” I also read JMac’s “You Cannot be Serious” but it was way back so I cannot remember too much of it (Tatum & FO final come to mind); I took out Martina’s nutrition book, too, but never got round to reading all of it. I remember she said to eat a lot of eggs. :)

I think I will read “Rafa” eventually; would love to hear more on the psychology of players, and the fact that it deals with the “now” of tennis and current players makes it even more intriguing.

September 19th, 2011 at 5:06 pm

I did read about novak UNICEF on his Twitter a while back. Good things all around for him!

September 19th, 2011 at 5:12 pm

@Jane:

Like I’ve said, I read it “diagonally”. The way I read new books on old subjects.

I imagine that Tignor’s book could be good, but I am more interested about the perception of the game by the players themselves than in tennis poetry (Tignor is very poetic indeed).

Rafa’s book gives maybe not too much, but certainly enough to ponder on.

September 19th, 2011 at 5:20 pm

jane, i thought rafa’s book was boring as hell and i worship the guy. Agassi’s was quite amusing to me.

September 19th, 2011 at 5:56 pm

Hey Novak haters, get a life, you pathetic bunch of losers!!!

September 19th, 2011 at 6:07 pm

“Also saw that Roger, Nole and Rafa are donating their gear to help flood victims.”

And how has this information become public? And why?

September 19th, 2011 at 6:40 pm

grendel, not sure. Perhaps by Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi since he is the doubles player apparently responsible for getting the top players involved in this cause. As to the “why”? I assume the more people who know about the gear/floods, the more chance that funds will be raised in the auction of and for said?? Anyhow, this is where I read it:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Flood-victims-bind-tennis-world-s-elite/Article1-747862.aspx

September 19th, 2011 at 7:36 pm

I suppose so. Actually, I presume it is a pin drop in terms of what is needed. But better a pin drop than nothing, you might want to say. Even so, you can’t say that these famous people don’t enjoy a buzz from being regarded as philanthropic – when in fact, as exceedingly rich individuals, they are sacrificing nothing. For all I know, their acts of “charity” might even be good business. It’s a strange world we live in, where little is what it seems.

September 19th, 2011 at 8:48 pm

I wondered if perhaps you were thinking “self-promotion”, and I suppose it is and/or could be good “buzz”. I didn’t want to seem too cynical; I mean, if it’s for a good cause I suppose it doesn’t hurt, as it’s works out for all involved: celeb/tennis player gets good press; auctioneers raise good money; money goes to help victims of flood. But on the other hand – a little bit of gear is but a drop in the ocean compared to what a large sum of cash could be – perhaps even better if given silently. Of course, we don’t know that they (celebs, etc) don’t do that from time to time. When taxes are coming due. ;)

September 19th, 2011 at 9:03 pm

grendel, there is a cycnical bit on the “game of charity” in Melville’s The Confidence-Man (a book largely reviled when he wrote it but one of my favorites).

September 19th, 2011 at 9:13 pm

jane/grendel and others….

I may be barking wrong but the best “give back” these guys can do is back the game and Global Junior Tennis. There are tons of causes that celebrities and peoples “with money” give but who is going to help out the Tennis industry other that the successful players? You are not seeing Warren Buffet and the likes ( except maybe a Larry Ellison…..thank you Larry! ). It would be nice if the players can do charitable work it be mainly directed towards promoting and developing the game. I am not saying that being involved with victims of catastrophes and such is dishonorable in any way……that is awesome and well respected……but would like to see more focus if they are going to give monies and time to the Tennis game of the youth. Just me… :)

September 19th, 2011 at 9:54 pm

All,if Djokovic is pulling out of Asian swing, that is bad news in one way – I am not sure if he can the 82-3 record because, he just has Basel, Shanghai and World tour finals, which accounts for 5+6+5 = 16 matches at most. At the max, he can achieve 80-3 in that case. :(

September 19th, 2011 at 10:04 pm

Correction – I am not sure if he can surpass the 82-3 record because, he just has Basel, Paris and the World tour finals..

September 19th, 2011 at 10:06 pm

Skeezer, I take your point. I have always admired that the Djoko clan bought that defunct ATP tournament and have built a tennis academy in Serbia. No, it’s not charity. Yes, it’s present and future “good business.” However, at the same time, it’s putting in the necessary infrastructure to grow tennis in Serbia and allow the youth access to facilities Nole didn’t even have. It’s a way to take his success and put it back into the very sport that made him what he is. I like that full circle thing.

Contemporary, big picture might be more important. Who had the best year will always be debatable. Streaks, records: these are all nice. But I would rather see Novak healthy so he can continue to play well next year too. He needs to take ALL THE TIME he needs to heal so he can come back healthy. At least that’s my opinion. :)

September 19th, 2011 at 11:08 pm

all the best novak.

September 20th, 2011 at 2:37 am

i agree with jane to get the record would be great but its not the be all and end all,its not worth the risk just for the shear sake of a streak,he needs to rest and then come back healthy and the amazing year hes had this year will give him very much to build upon,for the sake of longevity in his career the wise thing to do is rest,and not risk further damage.

September 20th, 2011 at 5:53 am

Novak helped many people from kosovo, and also helped Serbian Orthodox Church on Kosovo. He never talked about it, but they did, and that’s how I know about it. So, that is probably what the rest of guys are doing too, helping in anonymity. If other side wants to release it, it’s OK with them, if not, it’s OK with them. So that is not only business but genuinely helping. You just have to pay attention on small releases in domestic and global media.
It is a big concern of mine why do fans so much love some players and and even more hate others. Federer wouldn’t be as great if there were no Sampras or Hewitt, Nadal wouldn’t be as great if there was no Federer, and Nole wouldn’t be as great if there were no Nadal and Federer. So, I love Nadal and Federer being aroung, and I wish them all the best, and respect them, because of their game, and because only compared to the greatest I can really appreciate what Nole has done so far in his career! They make Nole great! And I thank them! To all the REAL fans out there: Enjoy, now there is no what if, we can see them on top of their games and facing each other… Maybe once in a lifetime opportunity!

September 20th, 2011 at 5:55 am

This endless talk of “class acts” is one which personally, I find questionable – off court, anyway. These are tennis players, people who do a sport for a living and, if they are successful, they are richly rewarded, both in terms of money and attention. If some of them choose to give an infinitesimally tiny fraction of their money away, that’s up to them, but I don’t see any reason to applaud them for it. Or, for that matter, to criticise them for not doing it. It’s just a private thing, like enjoying taking the dog for a walk, bungee jumping, masturbating in mid-morning to conserve energy, and so on. No need to broadcast it. Meanwhile, the great majority of players on the tour earn little (so far as I can tell – I sometimes wonder how they cope at all, with all the huge expenses), and some of these are likely to be far more generous than anyone at the top. (Likely, because of the random nature of the distribution of players, and obviously there are only very few at the top.) But they don’t get any credit for their private acts of generosity, which nobody knows about anyway. And nor should they. I knew a girl once who was criticised for always “taking”. But, she pointed out, there are those who like to give, and she was happy to gratify them.

It’s a strange thing. We like to pile plaudits onto people who already have them by the bucketful. I don’t pretend to be immune to this curious tendency, almost akin to worship – but I think it is worthy of comment.

September 20th, 2011 at 9:01 am

this is the same injury he got at uso
fact is he shouldnt have played if he was injured
now hes made it worse
davis cup not worth it

September 20th, 2011 at 12:53 pm

skeeze @9.54, Andy paid for some kids from his old Primary School in Dunblane to go to the Davis Cup in Glasgow. Rather poignant. Hope it was inspirational.
Apparently Judy used to take her boys to Davis Cup matches

September 20th, 2011 at 1:17 pm

i agree with grendel its nice to be able to help the disadvantaged,the rich and famous are fortunate that they are able to do so financialy,while us mere mortals cannot afford that luxury,thats why i have never had much time for celebrities been knighted,just for simply doing something they enjoy anyway,where every day theres doctors,nurses and surgeons saving lives,although i must admit at times i too have been guilty of putting these people up on some god like pedestal,let them do whatever they wish,its nice to do but i agree i think it does get milked a bit too much sometimes.

September 20th, 2011 at 2:20 pm

@grendel read through your post again and cannot stop laughing,masturbating in mid morning to conserve energy,lol,lol.

September 20th, 2011 at 2:57 pm

Aww, that’s sweet margot: didn’t know that, so there you go. Some of their “good acts” are quietly done.

September 20th, 2011 at 3:42 pm

may have been quietly done – but we know about it, don’t we….
still, I imagine that was not deliberate, I rather like Murray and I doubt he flaunts his wealth/power unduly. But think of the pleasure it must have given Murray to be in a position to buy those tickets. sufficient reward, I’d think.

September 20th, 2011 at 4:19 pm

Holy crap take rest Novak. It wasn’t sensible to play in the Davis Cup at all after USO final. Why isn’t this team stopping him from overplaying? I read there was internal bleeding too? You need ice and graded rehab. TAKE REST. Whole year his scheduling was perfect. He shouldn’t have played in the Davis Cup. Now just FORGET about Shanghai Masters.

September 21st, 2011 at 12:39 am

grendel@ 4.19. A bit cynical. Only true in so far as whatever sports stars do, because of mass communication, we’ll know about it. I happen to know because I read MW and someone who was actually at the Davis Cup tie, passed it on. Haven’t seen/read anywhere else.

September 21st, 2011 at 2:06 am

cynical? but if you read carefully, you’ll see that I am in agreement with you and am, on this occasion anyway, on Murray’s side.

September 21st, 2011 at 3:16 am

margot – http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/112342.html (inside a link from mat4). You might think I am sympathetic to John Lloyd’s argument- with his talk (justified) of pampered stars and so on. But I think he misdiagnoses the situation. It’s all very well sitting round the table – that doesn’t necessarily shift those who hold the levers of power. They can simply continue to obstruct at no cost to themselves. Murray has a case, I think, which a neutral observer can support, not because he is concerned for the wellbeing of the players as such (that’s another matter) but because he wants to see the top players playing at their very best. Lloyd seems to me to have missed that one.

September 21st, 2011 at 7:00 am

There are a few articles on schedule issues and strike comments out there: the Independent, the Telegraph, Bleacher Report, and so on.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/alexwillis/100019728/are-tennis-players-justified-in-their-complaints-about-the-schedule/

September 21st, 2011 at 10:38 am

grendel:1) I thought u were implying that Andy had leaked this rather nice gesture to the press for some sort of excruciating PR reason. If that was not the case, I apologise. Like you I believe giving to charity is a private matter. As far as I know this particular act of generosity has not made the media
2)Lloyd is a cold fish, prize nincompoop. All Andy and the others are asking for, it seems to me, is more say in their scheduling. Who could disagree? As for striking, he was asked if the players would discuss it and he said probably, whereupon that idiot Lloyd goes off on one! Grrrr.
Interesting that Davis Cup win was not reported on BBC1 or ITV early evening news, or Radio 4 next morning. However, they are all over “Strike Action Andy”!

September 21st, 2011 at 11:47 am

As is usually the case. :/ Journalist goes searching for an angle; asks question with said potential; player unsuspectingly replies; all hell breaks loose in press and one comment (that is usually a “reply” more so) is blown into a full on scoop. “Strike! Strike!” Meanwhile, reporting on the actual match(es) is sidelined.

September 21st, 2011 at 12:29 pm

no need to apologize, good grief, i can be a bit elliptical – i was actually teasing a bit, and then said “i imagine it was not deliberate” (i.e. the broadcasting) and pointed out the pleasure Murray must have got from his action – which suggests it was genuine.

John Lloyd, now. You know Chris Evert thought of him as a hunk and was determined to get him – quite why this should have entailed marriage, mind you, is a bit of a mystery. It always amused me that the Americans always thought of her as Chris Evert, the British as Mrs.Lloyd.

September 21st, 2011 at 12:31 pm

jane @12.29, exactly right :(

September 21st, 2011 at 4:04 pm

I won’t be surprised if the top players strike to make their appeals heard. The ATP is nothing radical to shorten the calendar. Next year is going to be worse with the added pressure of Olympics. The players are completely justified when they complain about the schedule. Their bodies are human, not machines. Davis Cup scheduling is also incredibly bad. The players deserve 6-8 off and the mandatory tournaments must be reduced. Some have no idea how incredibly hard these players train and how they push their body to the extreme limit. Nothing could be worse than Nadal, Federer, Djokovic or Murray suffering from a career threatening injury.

September 22nd, 2011 at 3:45 am

I meant the ATP is *doing* nothing radical.. and the players deserve 6-8 *weeks* off. Got to read my comment three times before I post.

September 22nd, 2011 at 3:47 am