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'Every time a match gets complicated...' - Carreno Busta accuses Djokovic of faking injury

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Oct 08, 2020, 07:06 PM IST
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Spanish tennis star Pablo Carreno Busta on Wednesday accused Novak Djokovic of poor sportsmanship during their Roland Garros quarter-final on Wednesday as he felt the world number one didn’t have any genuine health concerns despite battling injury problems.

Spanish tennis star Pablo Carreno Busta on Wednesday accused Novak Djokovic of poor sportsmanship during their Roland Garros quarter-final on Wednesday as he felt the world number one didn’t have any genuine health concerns despite battling injury problems.

Djokovic, one of the favourites for the French Open, had his neck taped during the match on Court Philippe Chatrier with restricted movement during the opening set against the world number 18. The Serb further asked his trainer on court to resolve some issues with his upper left arm.

However, the Serbian recovered well and qualified for the semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win and later added that he had to deal with some physical issues during the early part of his encounter against Busta. 

“Each time he is in trouble he usually does it, that means to say that he was in trouble, that he wasn’t comfortable and that I was playing at a high level and was causing him to doubt himself,” Carreno Busta told reporters in Spanish.

“Every time a match gets complicated he asks for medical assistance. He has been doing this for a long time. I already knew that. I knew it would happen at the U.S. Open, I knew it would happen here and I know it will keep on happening.

“I don’t know if it’s something chronic in his shoulder or just mental, but he didn’t put me off.”

Djokovic also banged his racket against his thigh in frustration following the opening set, the first he lost at this year’s claycourt Grand Slam.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s the pressure or something that he needs to do it. But he continues playing normal, no? I don’t know if he’s (in) pain really or he has mental (issues). Ask him,” Carreno Busta said in English.