"I will only say that I find it difficult" - Carlos Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero casts doubt on Novak Djokovic's Australian Open injury
Carlos Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero recently expressed his doubts about Novak Djokovic's hamstring injury at the 2023 Australian Open.
Djokovic won his 10th title at the Melbourne Major, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, despite having an injury scare during the previous rounds. The Serb had an issue with his hamstring early in the tournament and had to take a medical time-out during his third-round match against Grigor Dimitrov.
However, he seemed even more dominant in the latter stages, and went on to record a special title win at Melbourne Park. After the Australian Open, it was revealed that Djokovic had a three centimeter tear in his hamstring.
But Juan Carlos Ferrero has now said that while he wouldn't call the World No. 1 a liar, he found the injury difficult to understand given how he moved on the court throughout the tournament.
"I am not going to call Djokovic a liar, but I will only say that I find it difficult. I see it as difficult, if it were so, Djokovic would move as he did. Obviously if he has the ability to withstand brutal pain, which may be, good for him and he deserved to win," Ferrero said.
Novak Djokovic claims hamstring injury has healed as he gets ready for the Dubai Tennis Champonships
Novak Djokovic recently stated that his hamstring injury has healed, and that he is approaching 100% intensity. He also confirmed his participation at the upcoming Dubai Tennis Championships, claiming that it was a team decision.
"The injury has been repaired, I am approaching 100 percent intensity. I'm not at that level yet, but it's encouraging," he said. "As a team, we made the decision to go to Dubai. Ambitions are always the highest."
The Serb is the top seed at this season's Dubai Tennis Championships, and will be a heavy favorite to win. He competed in the ATP 500 event last season and reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual runner-up Jiri Vesely.
Novak Djokovic will be looking to clinch his sixth title in Dubai and narrow the gap between himself and Roger Federer, who has won the tournament a record eight times.
Other top players competing at the ATP 500 tournament include Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Djokovic recently equaled Steffi Graf's record of 377 weeks as the World No. 1. He looks set to surpass the German on Monday, when the next set of ATP rankings is released.