{"id":27098,"date":"2025-02-19T02:59:57","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T02:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27098"},"modified":"2025-02-19T02:59:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T02:59:57","slug":"novak-djokovic-issues-health-update-after-first-match-back-in-doha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27098","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic issues health update after first match back in Doha"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic confirmed that he is back to being fully healthy following his return to action in Doha.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Serb played his first match since retiring injured against Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open semifinal.<\/p>\n

The world No. 7 started his comeback by playing doubles with Fernando Verdasco as he and the Spaniard crushed Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-1 in their Doha doubles opener.<\/p>\n

\"Novak<\/picture>
Novak Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco\u00a9 Qatar Tennis\/Instagram – Fair Use<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the match, Djokovic confirmed that his muscle tear injury was a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven’t felt any pain, so I’ve been feeling great training the past 10 days, and past three days here in Doha,\u201d the 37-year-old said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday’s doubles match, obviously it’s different from singles, but it’s still a match, and you do have very dynamic movements that you have to do on the court, where you kind of test your body and how it feels.<\/p>\n

“It felt great, so I have no concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Djokovic on how he was doing while sidelined<\/h2>\n

Shortly after retiring at the Australian Open, the record 24-time Grand Slam champion also announced his withdrawal from Serbia’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark.<\/p>\n

And after doing so, the former world No. 1 put emphasis on recovering from his muscle injury that derailed his chances of winning his 25th Grand Slam at this year’s Australian Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI obviously focused mostly on my recovery of the muscle tear that I had. I recovered very well, then I started to train,\u201d Djokovic said.<\/p>\n

In the Doha singles, the Serb faces Matteo Berrettini in his first match, in what will be a rematch of the 2021 Wimbledon final.<\/p>\n

When it comes to doubles, the 37-year-old and Verdasco are due to meet reigning Wimbledon champions Haari Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the quarterfinal.<\/p>\n

After Doha, the Serb will go to the United States for the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday, Djokovic played his first match since retiring at the Australian Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nNovak Djokovic issues health update after first match back in Doha - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27098\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Novak Djokovic issues health update after first match back in Doha - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Monday, Djokovic played his first match since retiring at the Australian Open.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27098\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T02:59:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/4-90.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27098\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27098\",\"name\":\"Novak Djokovic issues health update after first match back in Doha - 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