Novak Djokovic is hoping that the discomfort he has been experiencing in his wrist is due to a lack of match play after suffering a straight sets loss at the Laver Cup.
Djokovic fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime on the final day of the three-day event which saw Team World stage a valiant comeback to claim the title for the first time. During the match, he appeared lacklustre on court and it was visible that he had some discomfort in his right wrist. Djokovic was also seen flexing his arm during his doubles match on Saturday but on the same day, he crushed Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-3.
“I have been struggling with my right wrist for the last four/five days, to be honest. I have been keeping it under control. The two matches yesterday probably had an effect. Today was not easy. I couldn’t serve as fast or as accurately as I would like to,” the 21-time Grand Slam winner told reporters on Sunday.
“Could be (due to) not playing almost three months of matches, and then conditions here (at The O2) are such that the balls are really big and slow. You always have to generate a lot of wrist action and speed, which could be the case why I have been feeling soreness in my right wrist.”
The setback comes as the former world No.1 is set to play his first singles tournament since Wimbledon at the Tel Aviv Open later this week. Djokovic missed the entire North American swing as he was unable to enter the region due to being unvaccinated against Covid-19.
As it currently stands, the Serbian still has every intention of travelling to Israel should his body allow him to do so. It will be the first time he has played a competitive match in the country in his career.
“I am not worried about my level, but I am a bit about the wrist. I am going to try to take care of it with my physio, to be ready for my first match in Tel Aviv,” journalist Sasa Ozmo quoted Djokovic as saying in his native language.
This year’s Laver Cup marked the end of Roger Federer’s career. A long-time rival of Djokovic’s whom he has beaten in 27 out of their 50 Tour meetings. Despite his departure from the sport, Djokovic states that he has no intention of following the same path anytime soon.
I don’t feel yet so old, to be honest, for my tennis career to finish,” he said.
“I still feel my body is serving me, is listening to me well. That’s the key I think when you get to 35-plus.”
“I’m not playing as much as I played few years ago. I want to peak at the best tournaments, biggest tournaments in the world, which are Grand Slams and some of the biggest ATP events, playing for my country,” Djokovic later added.
“That’s what gives me the most motivation and inspires me to play the best tennis. I really want to keep going. I don’t have the ending of my career on the horizon at the moment.
“I just want to keep going as long as I feel good and I can compete with the youngsters, that I could be one of the candidates to win Grand Slams.”
