Novak Djokovic has faced fresh scepticism over the severity of his injuries after taking a medical timeout in the United Cup.
The Serb struggled with a wrist injury during his victory over Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday, before appearing to have the same issue as he was surprisingly beaten by Alex De Minaur.
Speaking after the win over Lehecka, former Australian Open semi-finalist John Alexander accused Djokovic of “strategically” using medical timeouts.
“The injury timeouts — if there is a question mark over his greatness in his entire career, it’s the way he has, in many people’s minds, strategically used injury timeouts,” Alexander, a former world No 8, told ABC Tennis Podcast.
“After the loss of the second set, take an injury timeout to have his wrist massaged for some five minutes, breaking the opponent’s concentration, maybe having thoughts entering into his opponent’s head ‘gee maybe he’ll default, I’m all over for the night.’
“Then he picks himself up, wins the next five games, wins that third set 6-1. I have to say at this point I agree with many of my friends who say if they don’t see blood they don’t believe there’s an injury.
“I think when players so routinely are taking advantage of these rules and so obviously using them strategically to have an advantage tactically over their opponent, these rules need to be looked at a little bit more.
“He’s entering the Australian Open as he did last year, under the cloud of injury, maybe that’s what he needs psychologically to do his best.”
Djokovic, who saw a 43-match winning run in Australia ended by De Minaur, insists he will be fit for 2024’s inaugural Grand Slam. He said: “I think I have enough time to get myself in the right shape for the Australian Open, and that’s what matters the most at this point.”
