^ This. I don't know if anyone actively "defended" Novak's choice to play MC, but it's not impossible to understand, for the reasons you say. He's a young guy and an athlete who trusts his body. And they live with aches and pains all the time. Since he was on such a winning jag, it's hard to see him deciding to sit out MC, even if during the week there, he told the press that he hoped the wrist would feel better as the week went along…which seemed wildly optimistic at the time, even. Anyway, hindsight is easy, and this decision is different: now he knows he has something more than a passing niggle that wants a bit of tending to. Frankly, Rome is next week, and he may well sit it out, too. He probably needs to rest the wrist more than he needs the match play.
