Novak Djokovic Injury Update: Tennis World No 1 Reveals he Was on Painkillers During Australian Open Match Against Milos Raonic

Novak Djokovic braved pain to beat Milos Raonic on Sunday to advance to the quarter-final of the ongoing Australian Open. The Serb beat Raonic 7-6 (4) 4-6 6-1 6-4 in a game that pushed the World No 1 as he did not have it easy. After the match, a concerned Djokovic said that he was under strong painkillers for the game.

“Right now, in my head, it’s all about recovery. I just really want to try and feel better and better. I’m under pain killers for more than 48 hours, very strong ones. I don’t know the damage that’s been done,” he said.

Djokovic also revealed there he was in a dilemma over whether he should play or not.

“If I wasn’t in the condition, I’d pull out. There was a big cloud of doubt whether I was going to play or not. I’m not really sure whether it suited me that we didn’t have long exchanges – it probably did,” Djokovic said on Eurosport, as revealed by George Bellshaw.

The Serb also said that had it not been a Grand Slam he would have pulled out under the given circumstances.

“If it’s any other tournament than a Grand Slam, I would withdraw from the event, that’s for sure. But I want to give my best to try and recover and get on the court.

Next up, Djokovic will take on Germany’s Alexander Zverev for a place in the semi-finals. That game is expected to be a humdinger and fans would hope the Serb recovers to full fitness.