Novak Djokovic Shares Worrying Injury Update After Suffering a Sore Back During the US Open Third Round Against Cameron Norrie

Novak Djokovic is in a race against time as he aims for his 25th Grand Slam title. He won his last Grand Slam title two years ago at the US Open, and now at 38, he is looking to share the record for a fifth US Open title along with Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Jimmy Connors. He recently overcame an injury scare to claim a four-set win over Cameron Norrie in the third round of the tournament this year.

The Serb prevailed 6-4, 6-7(4-7), 6-2, 6-3 against 35th-ranked Norrie in a two hour and 49 minutes showdown at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Leading 5-4 in the first set, Djokovic took a medical timeout to address a back issue that was causing him discomfort and also received treatment early in the next set. Following his win, Djokovic opened up about his concerns regarding his physical form in a candid interview with ESPN:

Well, honestly I am concerned. You know, nowadays [I am] more concerned than I have ever been. Even though I really am meticulous with the care for my body and I put in a lot of hours on and off the court to make sure that my body is fit and recovered well…

Djokovic also earlier spoke up about concerns regarding his body after his opening round win against Learned Tien. He further added about the changes he has made to his regime to deal with the challenges of his increasing age:

But you know, age is… you can’t fight it. So things are different. I have to obviously adjust myself the way I approach things training. Sometimes I don’t train between matches because with my team when I have this discussion, we think that long term is better and that recovery is more important than hitting some balls in the court.