Novak Djokovic Turned His Right Ankle Today At Davis Cup, Here’s The Video

Oh that’s sad/hard for me to watch. Ouch. The slow motion really shows how he came down. :(

April 7th, 2013 at 3:48 pm

Why did he carry on with the point and the match after such a seemingly awful ankle turn?

Didn’t look nice that, but he still played on with the point and of course the match- so it cannot be as bad as it looks in slow motion at all quite possibly.

April 7th, 2013 at 4:05 pm

Why is he still playing?

April 7th, 2013 at 4:06 pm

To try to clinch the tie for his country, why else?

Why did Rafa keep playing Delpo at Wimbledon, and not only go on to win the match but go on to reach the finals, even when his foot/ankle was injured and he had to take a time out right before the tiebreak?

Perhaps because that’s what ambitious champions do; they play on through injuries.

Does that mean they are “fine”?

I think not.

April 7th, 2013 at 4:16 pm

@Giles:

Why is he playing?

Quite simple really:

Clearly the injury is not as bad as first assumed or as it looks in slow motion (what ‘suspected’ injury does not look bad in slow motion anyhow?).

He is not stupid, nor would his team force him to continue when they still have another match to play if need be.

He is continuing quite simply since:

– He is able to.

– He’s fine enough to do so.

– And his body permits him to play on at a level that he and his team feel that he could win the match in doing so.

This ain’t no superman routine from at all- he’s fine!

April 7th, 2013 at 4:16 pm

That is bad news but hopefully its nothing serious,i wonder if as a precautionary measure he will now pull out of Monte Carlo,damage limitation? anyway all the best Nole.

April 7th, 2013 at 5:36 pm

Talking of Davis Cup, did anyone notice GB has – surprisingly – beaten Russia?

April 7th, 2013 at 5:58 pm

Yes, Colin, I was discussing it with the DA on the other thread; congratulations to them.

April 7th, 2013 at 6:12 pm

Giles Says:
Why is he still playing?
April 7th, 2013 at 4:06 pm

Because he LOVES playing for his country and he has balls of steel.

April 7th, 2013 at 7:45 pm

The “injury” clearly isn’t as serious as it looks on the video(or as some people think). If it was serious, he would have retired. Just look at what he did against del potro in that tie in 2011. He retired because of a back injury, and that cost the serbs the tie itself.

April 7th, 2013 at 7:57 pm

[…] up on the Novak Djokovic’s scary right ankle turn, the World No. 1 elaborated on the injury afterward when speaking with the press in Boise, site of […]

April 7th, 2013 at 8:02 pm

Thomas, he’s having an MRI according to the DA, so clearly it’s not nothing. I can’t get over how people are reacting to Nole rolling his ankle. It’s like he’s done something wrong by playing through an injury. How strange. Lots of players do it all the time. Fed played through a back injury during IW. Rafa played through a foot/ankle injury versus Delpo at Wimbledon and is apparently almost always battling his knees. Murray played through an elbow injury at Monte Carlo one year, I think 2009, and has played through back injuries as well (FO last year I believe). Meanwhile, there is video of Nole clearly landing badly on his ankle and somehow it’s suspect. Players play through injuries all the time. Does this mean the injuries are nothing or aren’t serious? Personally, I don’t think so.

April 7th, 2013 at 8:08 pm

badabing, @7:45pm

That is about right.

April 7th, 2013 at 9:03 pm

Colin, I saw that. Very exciting for them to accomplish that without Andy. And what a comeback after losing two five-setters on Friday!

April 7th, 2013 at 10:16 pm

“Meanwhile, there is video of Nole clearly landing badly on his ankle and somehow it’s suspect. Players play through injuries all the time. Does this mean the injuries are nothing or aren’t serious? Personally, I don’t think so.”

Funny, I don’t recall reading a morally indignant post from you when some Nole fans on this very blog were saying Rafa was not injured during his 7-months break, that he was on an intensive, Toni inspired training boot camp to counter Nole! Idiocy cuts across fans, you know. No set of fans has a monopoly on rectitude.

Novak twisted his ankle badly. As a Rafa fan, I hope it is not serious and he recovers fully from it because I want him going toe to toe with Rafa, on court, and Rafa coming coming out on top, without excuses.

April 8th, 2013 at 2:40 am

Ooohhh…that was hard to watch! Djoko seems not to be very lucky when it comes to DC matches. Had he retired, the press would have been very tough on him because of his previous retirements. He saved the tie for his country. If the US and the Serbia were 2-2 at home, a win for the US would have been very possible. I too have been critical of Djoko’s retirements in the past. So all credit to him for sacrificing his personal interests to take his country to the DC semi finals. They played extremely well ( especially the doubles team) and I think they will be the champions this year.

April 8th, 2013 at 9:17 pm

Hi zola, you hit on a key point. I think Nole would have been widely criticized had he stopped playing, and he was clearly motivated by his team’s big win the previous rubber. The shots of him after the doubles win are, to say the least, very exuberant! :) But ironically he’s also been criticized for continuing to play if indeed the ankle is seriously injured and that made it worse. It might be one of those classic damned if you do damned if you don’t situations. Oh well: I juse hope it’s nothing too serious. I’d hate for him to be sidelined for months like Rafa was. That must’ve been difficult for you. I know you’re a longtime fan.

April 8th, 2013 at 11:10 pm

nadalista, I admit I am sensitive because he is my favourite and from what I can tell, we all tend to stick up for our faves first and foremost, while not always jumping into the fray if it doesn’t concern them. I choose when I get involved because mainly I try to keep posting is just for fun or interest’s sake, not meant to be *too* intense. That being said, I have stuck up for Rafa here before, for example, when people have accused him of being on drugs, etc. This incident just made me upset because Nole was being accused of acting or whatever when there is clear evidence in the video that he turned his ankle. It happened on the court for anyone to see. And plenty of other players have continued to play injured – including Fed or Rafa – and that doesn’t imply they were faking. It just means they are fighters.

April 8th, 2013 at 11:22 pm

Hi Jane. I understand your concern for Djoko but I don’t think it is very serious ( and I hope it is not). If he had torn a ligament, he wouldn’t be able to play on it. Also I think all professional players tape their ankles so the injury hopefully is not too bad.

I know from experience that if he had stopped at that point and iced the ankle it would have healed much faster. By playing with an injured ankle he definitely made a tough choice in favor of his team and to me it was a very commendable and selfless act.

Yes, it was hard to worry about RAfa not playing for months. I am very happy to see him back. But RAfa’s injury is an ongoing problem and he needs to deal with it. A sprained ankle might take a player out for a couple of weeks but it is not permanent.

April 9th, 2013 at 3:29 am

Zola hopefully Rafas now seeing the error of his ways,playing for quality rather than quantity,hes now reaching the pinacle of his career so i think smart shedualing is the key to a key of longevity(hopefully speaking).

April 9th, 2013 at 7:31 am

^sorry key to a career of longevity^.

April 9th, 2013 at 7:32 am

[…] today. Djokovic has announced that his MRI results showed “no structural damage” to his right ankle he frighteningly turned Sunday during Davis Cup. That means no ligaments were […]

April 9th, 2013 at 10:25 am

Alison,
Rafa has never played for quantity. There are tournaments that he likes to play ( Like Barcelona) and as an ATP player he is obliged to play the masters series. Before judging Rafa, you need to know about his injury history. Also as a player, he needs to build up for a grand slam. He can’t just show up in FO and be successful.

I think right now he is playing more aggressive tennis, so that will hopefully shorten his matches.I too would love to see him play for several more years.

April 9th, 2013 at 11:09 am

Zola sorry if that came out the wrong way,and i agree about the more aggressive style of tennis to shorten matches,but in previous years he has played quite a hectic shedual,so hopefully now especially as he missed Miami hes curtailing it to peak for the majors,dont worry im well aware of Rafas injury history.

April 9th, 2013 at 5:33 pm

alison,
No worries. Its all good. I think after 600 games or so many years, the players are allowed to skip one masters unless they are injured. So he has some flexibility now. But he had to play the rest anyway.

One problem with RAfa is that he really likes to play. I think he wanted to play Miami as well but Uncle Toni asked him not to.

April 9th, 2013 at 10:58 pm

Zola thanks for the reply,like you i only want whats best for Rafa,i was glad he listened to Uncle Toni,i wish he would skip Barcelona though,i know he likes playing there,but i think it might be too much,MC,Barcelona,Madrid,Rome,RG,Halle,Wimledon is alot of tennis.

April 10th, 2013 at 7:22 am

I agree with you. Too many tournaments in a short time. Although clay is not as bad on the body as the hard courts. Rafa skipped Barcelona one year but it is the Capital of his state ( or something like that) and that’s why he wants to play. I personally think he should skip Madrid. It is the worst preparation for RG. High elevation etc. Maybe he does that this year.

April 10th, 2013 at 7:05 pm

Indeed Zola,he should skip Madrid, the less important tournament on clay. Barcelona is the tournament in Spain that has more tradition and should be a Masster 1000 replacing Madrid. tiriac, what are you doing with this “peculiar” tournament?

April 10th, 2013 at 8:10 pm

[…] season begins in earnest this weekend at the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters. A week after suffering a frightening right ankle sprain, Novak Djokovic is in the field and after practicing yesterday is apparently ready to play. The top […]

April 13th, 2013 at 12:35 pm