Former player and respected tennis commentator Mark Petchey fears Novak Djokovic could be carrying a second injury as the Serbian star continues to recover from a meniscus injury.
The 24-time grand slam champion had surgery on his knee after an injury caused him to withdraw from Roland-Garros ahead of the quarter finals last month.
Djokovic said he could not “see myself holding back” ahead of Wimbledon, with his All England Club campaign currently earning him a spot in the quarter finals, where he will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Wednesday night (AEST).
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However, his strong run has not hidden a concern for Petchey, who believes the star looked troubled by an abdominal injury.
“I’m not sure if Novak’s not carrying a little bit of an injury,” Petchey said on Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily.
“Apart from the knee which is the obvious one, a little bit of (concern) on the ab.
“He looked a little concerned halfway through that second set, talking up to his physio, holding his (abs).”
Djokovic clutches at abdominal muscle. Stan
Djokovic was clutching at his abs on multiple occasions throughout the match, while also partaking in deep breathing exercises between serves.
The 37-year-old has been known to utilise various breathing exercises during his matches, however, the star has yet to confirm Petchey’s observations.
Djokovic defeated 15th-seeded Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarter finals before launching a bizarre outburst at fans, who he thought were against him.
Djokovic pretends to play a violin after defeating Rune. Mike Egerton/PA via AP
Petchey, who previously coached Silvija Talaja and Andy Murray into the top 50 in the world rankings, believed the “strange” outburst was a tactic used to fuel Djokovic’s motivation.
“It was strange but honestly, having worked with someone like Andy Murray and seeing their mentality – at times they need something a little bit different” he said.
“We’ve seen Andy at times walk around like he’s been hit by a sniper, come off, and then you say ‘what was wrong with that?’ and he would say, ‘there’s nothing wrong.’
“It’s almost as though they need something to drive them.
“I don’t know whether that was something Novak needed (against Rune).
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“I was sitting in the crowd and it was very obvious that it was “Ruuuuuune” that they were saying rather than booing.
“He obviously got into his head that they (the crowd) were disrespecting him.
“That is the sort of fire he has shown over the years against better players like Roger (Federer) and Rafa (Nadal) that he needed to perform at his best.
“It was a little spicy in the (arena) but we love a bit of that.
“I don’t think he was that disrespectful to the crowd but it will be interesting when he takes on Alex (de Minaur) because we are going to get a very quick temperature gaze of what the crowd and the public think (of Djokovic) at Wimbledon when he steps out onto the court.”
Petchey backed the ninth-seeded Aussie to advance to the semi finals.
“I think it’s Alex’s time, just as it was at the United Cup at the start of the year,” Petchey said.
“I do like his chances.”