After nearly six months and lots of frustration, Novak Djokovic has returned to tennis. For now. For the best he can do. And what that is? No one knows—not even him.
It’s an unusual time for Djokovic, whose painful right elbow—a long-term problem—recently started bothering him again, just before the Australian Open. That happened despite five months of rest, treatment and conditioning. He’s now wearing a sleeve on his right arm and he has learned a new serve—a rare and tricky task for a tennis pro, never mind a player who is 30 years old and was, not long ago, the best player in the world, by a lot. Djokovic’s new service motion is much more compact, with the right arm not dropping down as it did before. This could help the elbow injury. It could also precipitate a different injury, perhaps through increased pressure in the shoulders. Kinesiology is funny like that. And Djokovic isn’t sure if he’ll keep this serve exactly as it is, or modify it further.
“I know that it’s going to take a little bit of time for me to kind of work my way in and get used to the specific changes that I’ve made in my service motion,” Djokovic said. “It wasn’t ideal, but it was still good. I’m looking forward to work on it more.”
Djokovic has a new coach now, retired pro Radek Stepanek, and still has Andre Agassi in his corner in Melbourne, too. Those two helped to refashion Djokovic’s serve and were there when he won his first-round match, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 against American Donald Young. Most people think Djokovic will have a much tougher second-round against Gael Monfils, but Monfils, too, has been battling injuries. If Djokovic beats Monfils and wins his next match, the competition could become even more taxing in the fourth round, when he could face young star Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed.
Djokovic’s elbow pain is a shame because the rest of his body seems younger than his 30 years. He can still run and stretch as well as anyone in the sport. He can still survive long rallies without running out of energy or stamina. And he can, if his arm holds up, still perform at his best in a five-set match.
But the elbow is complicated. Djokovic has been cryptic about it. It seems that he considered surgery, but decided, with advice from doctors, to try to heal it without going under the knife. Djokovic has been an excessive health-lover since he became a great player, so his decision is no surprise. The man still treats his body like a rare jewel, to the point where he won’t even drink ice-cold water. (He prefers room temperature.)
Because Djokovic is so precise and careful with his body, the elbow must frustrate him to no end. In recreational tennis, elbow injuries are common. Poor technique, especially late hits, can beat up tendons in the elbow and cause a lot of pain. But as tough as this problem is to fix, it rarely afflicts professionals, whose technique is usually near perfect. That’s what makes Djokovic’s bad luck so worrisome. He could get out of this, but right now, that’s unclear.
Djokovic doesn’t seem to be expecting too much at the Australian Open—he’s just pleased that he can compete. In tonight’s match, we’ll find out more.
