Djokovic wrist complaints ahead of the Tel Aviv Open

Novak Djokovic (No.7) has revealed he was struggling with a wrist injury at the Laver Cup and that his long absence from the Tour recently could be the cause.

The three-day tournament at London’s O2 Arena was the Serb’s first tournament since winning the 21st Grand Sam of his career at Wimbledon in early July.

The 35-year-old Serb, who was absent from US tournaments due to the ban on entry for the unvaccinated, came back strong on Saturday, winning both singles and doubles.

However, on Sunday he was defeated by Felix Auxerre Aliasim, a key result that helped Team World reach the Laver Cup for the first time.

“I’ve had a wrist problem for four or five days. I’m trying to get a handle on it. The two games on Saturday probably hit me. It wasn’t easy on Sunday. I couldn’t serve as quickly and exactly as I wanted. It affected the whole game” said Djokovic after the loss to Aliasim.

Nole’s goal is to qualify for the ATP Finals in London and winning the title at Wimbledon gives him that opportunity as long as he stays in the top 20 of the ATP race. The Serb is ranked 15th in the ATP race and will compete at the Tel Aviv Open in Israel this week before traveling to Kazakhstan for the ATP 500 in Astana.

“Maybe the wrist problems are justified by the long break. I haven’t played tennis for three months and the conditions in London weren’t easy, with slow balls.” he said.

On Thursday (29/9) Djokovic will enter the Tel Aviv Open battle and will face Andujar or Monteiro in the 2nd round. This means that to clinch the title in Israel he has to play four games in as many days.

Source: Tennis24