Novak Djokovic told ‘all he needs to do’ to win 25th Grand Slam by Andy Murray’s ex-coach
Tennis analyst Mark Petchey has described Novak Djokovic’s swift recovery from the injury he suffered at the Australian Open as “phenomenal.”
The former British No 1 also weighed in on the prospect of Djokovic winning another Grand Slam title.
Djokovic tore the hamstring in his left leg during his four-set Australian Open quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz.
The 24-time major champion was unable to continue after losing the first set of his semi-final with Alexander Zverev due to the injury.
After Djokovic posted an image showing a scan of the tear on social media, some expected the 37-year-old to be sidelined until the clay-court season.
However, the great Serbian will not be forced to miss any scheduled tournaments as he is set to return for next week’s Qatar Open.
This is not the first time Djokovic has defied expectations with his powers of recovery as he remarkably recuperated from a meniscus tear sustained at the 2024 French Open in time to play at Wimbledon — where he reached the final — just weeks later.
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Speaking on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Petchey commented on Djokovic’s latest rapid recovery.
“Yeah, it is well ahead of schedule,” the former world No 80 said.
“It’s phenomenal that like he’s looking to potentially get out to the Middle East to go and play. I mean, obviously, a couple of weeks after sort of Australia.
“There was some rumours like only a week ago that he was only going to come back in Madrid on the clay. So never believe anything you read, especially on the Internet.”
Petchey also shared his thoughts on the player-coach partnership between Djokovic and his former pupil Andy Murray
“Yeah, well let’s be honest, he (Murray) got handed the keys to a Ferrari, it’s not like he got dumped with the keys to me, the Skoda,” the Brit added.
“Listen, it’s a different challenge at that level, no question. I think Andy brought a lot of thoughtfulness, I think he brought a lot of detail, I think he brought a lot of just underlining Novak’s greatness and what made him difficult to beat when Andy was playing against him.
“And we saw Novak play some awesome tennis against Carlos, and I’m sure that’s the kind of tennis that will keep him on tour for another couple of years because, he doesn’t need to play like that every single week, but all he needs to do is play like that at the back end of a major – and he’ll have 25.”
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