From Tommy Robredo's presser:
Q. You sound like you don't believe Djokovic's ailments . Is that true?
TOMMY ROBREDO: That's not that I don't believe. I have pain, as well. I was running like hell and my feet were burning but I say nothing, no? I think that if you're not fit enough, then don't play.
But after every time he was asking for a trainer, he was running like hell and he was making the shot, but he does what he does a lot of times.
So I think we should take care a lot more of these things, because one thing is that if you fell down like I did, I can have blood and it's normal that trainer gets in because there's blood or whatever. But for having pain, I had pain, as well, all over my body because I think I run a lot more than him, and I said nothing, no?
So did I trust him? No. No. I think he took his time because he did it because he was a little bit more tired and that's a part of the game. It help him a lot.
Pucker up, Tommy. Cuz, those are some sour grapes.
I watched Nole's match. I listened to Jim Courier's commentary to the match. And if Nole was faking his ailments, then he's truly a method actor, because it was 100% clear to everyone that the guy was hurt. And I'm not just talking about the exhaustion. That's a completely different issue. He clearly hurt his hip sliding for a ball, which is shy he called the trainer the first time (when HE was leading 3-0 mind you). Every time he had to stretch for his forehand and slide on the court, he practically collapsed and couldn't get back into the court. He then clearly rolled his right ankle in the fourth set. The fact that Tommy couldn't take advantage of the fact that Nole was weak going wide to his forehand side is his fault.
And anyone who has watched or played sports at a high level knows that when you're sick or injured, everything slows down for you. Your focus narrows and many times you end up executing better than if you were at 100%. How many Slams did Pete Sampras win when he was legitimately hobbling and in pain? How about when he was throwing up on the Court against Corretja and still managed to pull out the five set win? What about Tiger at this year's US Open? How about Michael Jordan in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, where he had the flu and scored 38 points before collapsing into Pippen's arms right before the final whistle blew. Isn't that the measure of a champion? Could you imagine the outrage if Igor Andreev in his presser said "You know, Roger's been complaining that he suffered from mono, but then out there he was running around as if there was no problem. I think he's blowing that mono thing out of proportion." There would be blood in the streets.
Come on. It's a fact. It happens. And the fact that Nole didn't do Tommy a favor by playing like he was hurt doesn't mean crap. Bad form from Tommy for calling out Nole. I really thought Tommy was classier than that. But I'll give him a mulligan on this one. It was a tough fight and a tough loss for him. I can understand if his emotions are all over the place.
Maybe he still holds a grudge because Nole couldn't help him close the deal with Ana. Who knows.
