Novak Djokovic’s Bad Elbow Might Force Him To Take A Break, Even Have Surgery
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Novak Djokovic’s elbow flared up at the worst time, forcing him to retire from a quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych Wednesday at Wimbledon.
Afterward, Djokovic admitted that he’s been struggling with the issue for over a year now. And it forced him out of Miami earlier this season.
“It’s the elbow that already keeps bothering for over a year and a half actually,” Djokovic said. “It’s unfortunate that I had to finish Wimbledon, Grand Slam, this way. I mean, if someone feels bad about it, it’s me.
“But, you know, I tried. I tried what I could do from yesterday, you know, to get it in the condition where I’m able to play. I was able maybe for 30 minutes to play with some pain that was bearable, let’s call it that way.
“I spend probably about two hours, two and a half hours today on the table in between the warmup and match, trying to do everything I possibly could to, you know, make me fit.
“But it wasn’t to be. You know, for an athlete, especially in an individual sport, there is no way out. If you don’t feel fit, unfortunately that’s it. You know, there is no one to come instead of you.”
“I’m just going to talk with specialists, as I have done in the last year or so, try to figure out what’s the best way to treat it and to solve it, to find a long-term solution.”
“The intensity and the level of pain was not decreasing. It was only increasing as the days went by. Actually, I started feeling it already more or less at the beginning of the tournament.”
“Unfortunately today was the worst day. Probably the fact that I played yesterday, kind of days adding up, you know, as I’ve said before, it wasn’t helping at all.
In the end of the day, this is something I have to deal with and accept it.”
Djokovic also hinted that he might need surgery which could end his season.
“The specialists that I’ve talked with, they haven’t been really too clear, mentioning also surgery, mentioning different options. Nobody was very clear in what needs to be done,” he added.
“As long as it kind of comes and goes, it’s fine. But obviously, adding up, maybe it worked for seven, eight, ten months, but now the next seven months is not working that great. Obviously it’s adding up more and more. The more I play, the worse it gets.
“I guess the break is something that I will have to consider right now.”
So what will Djokovic do? And whatever he decides will Andre Agassi and/or Mario Ancic continue? With a another baby due soon, it will be a interesting summer for the Serb.
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