Novak Djokovic set to call press conference to address injury doubters

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Novak Djokovic press conference

Novak Djokovic is set to call a press conference over persistent allegations that he faked his Australian Open injury.

Djokovic has been dogged by allegations and is reportedly sick of fielding questions about it.

He has not set a date for the conference but indicated that it would take place in the next few days.

“I know everything, but I can’t tell you anything, sorry. I decided to have a press conference. I will answer all questions there. I have already arranged with my PR team, the invitation will arrive in a few days,” Djokovic told Sportal.

France’s Gilles Simon has also claimed that Novak Djokovic is irritated at the cabal of prominent figures and media outlets that have questioned the extent of the injury he carried through his run to the Australian Open title.

Simon told Serbian newspaper Alo! that the world No 1 is ‘annoyed’ with the constant questioning and doubting.

During the Australian Open, Djokovic suffered from some limited movement which faded without altogether vanishing by the final.

Understandably Djokovic doesn’t want to lift the lid on his medical records as well as his process of recovery.

It is unclear what benefit Djokovic would even derive from exaggerating or simulating an injury.

However that hasn’t stopped the questions from coming at Djokovic.

Simon said that the Serbian was now getting irritated by the nagging.

“He’s (Djokovic) always being interrogated, and it annoys him,” Simon told Alo.

“They don’t have to try to justify themselves, it just feeds them.

“Some will defend him no matter what. Others will attack him. Federer too. They’re so big they’re dealing with these things.”

Simon did concede that he thinks that Djokovic and Nadal are just so good that they can beat top ATP Tour professionals while not at 100 per cent.

“We think they ‘tease’ us when they win a Grand Slam. But winning a Grand Slam is their level. They’re so ahead against us that even when they’re not at their maximum, they win. They’re the strongest. When they’re at 70 percent, it’s like when the rest of us are at our peak.”

Djokovic is set to take part in the Dubai Tennis Championships but at this stage his participation in the Sunshine Double remains in doubt over travel restrictions.

India Well tournament director Tommy Haas, was hopeful that Djokovic would be allowed in if the restrictions are not yet lifted by that time.

Haas said: “The one problem being that he still cannot come to the U.S. If he doesn’t play Indian Wells and Miami in March (it will be tough), they’re supposed to lift those mandates by mid-April.

“It would be nice to see if we could maybe lift those a little earlier and have him come to play Indian Wells and Miami. I think he wants to play, so we should give him the chance. Hopefully, we can have him there. I mean, it would be a disgrace in my eyes if he wasn’t coming to these events, or not allowed to come.”

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