Mid-Season Roundup: InDjoray Issues

Having talked of injury in my last post, there were also a few players that were hit particularly hard by exactly this and it has left fans in doubt of whether we will see them at the upcoming US Open.

It’s one thing for Wimbledon to be annoyed with player withdrawals, but if one player can justifiably be angry with the tournament then it would be Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Grass courts are always injury central as they retain natural moisture which sends players sliding and slipping all over the place: it’s the nature of the beast. The transition from clay to grass can be hard on the body and is often the reason behind injuries that players carry into Wimbledon. The later in the day you are scheduled, the more aware you should be of this fact as the surface is at its most treacherous after a couple of matches have already been played on it. As the tournament progresses the courts get steadily worse, especially around the baseline, as the grass gets damaged and churned up. This has always been the case and it is easy to sympathise with the groundsmen who do their very best to manage a surface which is alive. However, at a tournament like Wimbledon certain standards are expected. This year it was obvious that many players didn’t feel these had been met as complaints about the courts were the talk of the locker and press rooms. Several players publicly slammed the quality compared to previous years including Britain’s own Andy Murray who acknowledged there were ‘quite big lumps of grass, almost like little divots’ on centre. Novak Djokovic was unimpressed when he spotted a hole in centre court and Fabio Fognini added ‘I think the courts this year are really, really bad’. But it was the outside courts, particularly court 18, which were under greatest fire. Kristina Mladenovic got the full court 18 experience as she lost to Alison Riske in a how to fall over masterclass after twisting her ankle in the warm up. In press she said she felt blessed not to have got a worse injury and confirmed that both her and Riske had wanted to stop play after 2 games ‘in case something bad happens’. That just might have been an omen of what was to come as on the same, unusually hot, day Mattek-Sands found herself at the centre of a drama on court 17.

As she traveled to the net her right knee seemed to buckle as she immediately fell to the ground and could be heard screaming ‘help me’. I’ll spare you the full gruesome details but it was a situation that left opponent Sorana Cirstea visibly shaken in press as Mattek-Sands doubles partner and husband both rushed onto court to comfort Bethanie. She needed 20 minutes of on court treatment, which included oxygen, before being taken off in a stretcher and straight to hospital. While we don’t know for sure that the court conditions were to blame what became clear was the reluctance of the tournament to listen to player concerns. Debatably, with hot conditions wilting the grass to a level players felt was dangerous on that day, attempts should have been made to reschedule matches on the worst affected outside courts opposed to forcing them to play on a surface many were evidently uncomfortable with.

Mattek-Sands has since received surgery which will take at least 6 months to recover from and it will  probably be another 6 before she is considered tournament ready. A real shame as a 12 month absence will see the women’s doubles number 1 miss her home slam and lose this ranking for sure. She remains characteristically upbeat, however, and insists it could all have been a lot worse as her doctors don’t consider this to be ‘a career ender’.

Another player looking likely to miss the US Open, and beyond, is world number 4 Novak Djokovic. He retired from his quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych with a right elbow injury that has been bothering him off and on for the past 18 months. Djokovic himself acknowledged that he should have probably took a break from tennis some time ago but had been overruling the signs from his body leaving him in a situation where he can no longer play through the pain of an injury which has become chronic. He hinted in the post-match press conference that he resultantly may have to take an extended break from the game. Apparently he went further for Serbian media, cautioning that he could be out for 6 months. Novak has since been to Toronto to seek the advice of specialists’ and rumour has it he will hold a press conference tomorrow: presumably to announce that he will skip the US Open (although it has got some fans panicking that he might be announcing his retirement). And maybe that isn’t such a bad thing as he has his second child due around this time anyway. According to the Serbian Davis Cup team doctor, who has previously assessed Djokovic’s elbow issue, it is the result of bruising to the bone simply from overplaying and will require 6-12 weeks of complete rest from tennis before further assessment. Although the symptoms are said to be improving it is still possible that the next assessment will show a need for surgery. However, both Djokovic and the doctor made clear this would be a last resort. If surgery is needed then his 2017 season is surely over. Despite, the take-a-break tactic working extremely well for the likes of Federer and Nadal it is always a risk to be away from the game for any large amount of time. Djokovic has around 2000 points to defend from his win last year in Canada and a final appearance at the US Open. This will see his ranking fall and if he was to return in January (just a guess) then his ranking would probably be outside the top 10 giving him a mountain to climb back to the top.

Andy Murray, on the other hand, looks like he may make the US Open after a hip injury saw him hobble out of his Wimbledon quarterfinal. If Djokovic seems somewhat melodramatic by his calling of a press conference and potential 6 months out warning then Murray is his polar opposite. Andy seemed very calm in his press conference for someone that looked to be in great discomfort during his 5 set loss. I’m not sure how he managed to finish the match. Generally, hip injuries are worse than elbow injuries (especially for a player that relies so heavily on good movement around the baseline) but maybe he was calm because he hasn’t had it for 18 months….

Still, to be back in time for the US Open is fairly ambitious but I believe he will do it. Murray has historically been the type to push through pain valiantly. But with Murray almost certainly guaranteed to lose the number one ranking anyway and with only a quarterfinal loss to defend from last year’s US Open he could probably afford to take the extra two weeks to make sure he is 100% healthy. Not just in regard to the hip injury but to the fact that much of his 2017 season has been hampered by various injuries and illnesses (including his own elbow issue, flu and shingles). As Boris Becker warned Murray ‘you only get one body’. Perhaps he should take note. I’m sure that in retrospect Novak Djokovic would.