A few days ago, Novak Djokovic’s participation in the prestigious Doha ATP 500 was confirmed. The tournament will take place from February 17 to 22 and will be filled with great players, including world number 1 Jannik Sinner and world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz.

Almost no one imagined that the Serbian ace would be present in Qatar after the injury to his left thigh suffered at the Australian Open at the end of last month. Initial rumours suggested that the former world No.1 would have to stay away from the tour for a couple of months, until Serbian media revealed the injury was less serious than expected and that Nole would be ready for Doha.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has not resumed practice and is only focusing on recovery from a physical point of view. The 37-year-old from Belgrade will reach Doha very soon and will use next week to test his condition ahead of a tournament in which he could have a really tough path.

The current world number 6 has not found an agreement with Andy Murray to continue their collaboration after the AO, but optimism filters from this point of view.

The two legends had a great time together in Australia and there is an intention to continue joining forces in 2025.

Nole has another reason

It would be useless to deny that there is also an additional reason why Novak will play the Doha ATP 500. By rushing his recovery time, the Serbian risks worsening his physical condition and suffering a new injury.

However, the main sponsor of this prestigious tournament is ‘Qatar Airways’, the well-known airline with which Djokovic signed a partnership shortly before the start of the new season. It is no coincidence that – a few days after this agreement – the former world number 1 announced his presence in Doha.

In any case, Nole plans to play more tournaments this year than in past seasons to get to top form in the Majors.