After the injury to his left thigh suffered during the 2025 Australian Open, it was reasonable to expect Novak Djokovic to be out for a longer time. The former world No. 1 who had defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park before retiring against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals was back in action already in Doha this week.
The Serbian legend had not been able to practice much in the weeks leading up to this event and this feeling was evident during his first-round match against Matteo Berrettini. The 24-time Grand Slam champion who was hunting for the 100th title of his legendary career (the third in Qatar after wins in 2016 and 2017) played a decent first set against a very dangerous player on this surface, but he switched off in the tiebreak and played a disastrous second set that allowed the Italian ace to get the most prestigious victory of his career.
Nole worries fans
The 37-year-old from Belgrade also played the doubles tournament in Doha together with his friend Fernando Verdasco - in the last professional tournament of his career - and said he did not feel any pain in the press conference.
However, 'AS' posted a video that portrayed Nole limping as he was on his way to Doha airport to return home. This video has fueled speculation about the Serbian ace's shape, who is expected to play the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami next month.
In an interview with 'TennisUpToDate', former WTA star Andrea Petkovic expressed her sincere concern about Djokovic's condition: "He practiced quite well in Doha before the match against Matteo Berrettini, but he didn't find those sensations on the court and it showed.
Something like this can happen when you come back from an injury, it takes time to get back into the right rhythm.
I'm not worried about Novak in terms of the level of his tennis. At the Australian Open he showed that he is still competitive at the highest level. The most important thing is that he is physically well."
