![\"Novak](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/Novak-Djokovic-ATP-Qatar-ExxonMobil-Open-5967801.jpg?r=1739954396823\")
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Novak Djokovic has raised fresh concerns after falling at the first hurdle in Doha.<\/p>\n
The world No. 7 was dumped out in the opening round, suffering a 7-6(4) 6-2 loss to Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, Djokovic gave a blunt assessment of the match and admitted he still couldn’t “move” properly, also addressing injury fears.<\/p>\n
Djokovic was playing his first match since retiring injured in the Australian Open semi-final with a muscle tear. The Serb had already won a round in doubles with Fernando Verdasco, the former world No. 7 who is retiring in Doha this week.<\/p>\n
He received a brutal draw, coming up against Berrettini in his first singles match – a rematch of the 2021 Wimbledon final. The Italian had never beaten Djokovic but he finally earned a long-awaited win, taking a close first set in a tiebreak before racing through the second.<\/p>\n
Djokovic later confirmed that his muscle tear didn’t affect him – but sparked concern when he discussed his movement on court and conceded that he was getting injured more often.<\/p>\n
![\"Djokovic](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/Djokovic-Berrettini-ATP-Qatar-5967828.jpg?r=1739954396835\")
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“I mean, I didn’t have any pain or discomfort in that sense. I mean, I was outplayed by just a better player today,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t at my desired level, and it could be that I’m still not moving the way I want to move, but, I mean, I played without pain, so there is no excuse in that.<\/p>\n
“He was just the better player. I think he played a master class match, to be honest, tactically, and served very well, so just a very deserved win from his side.”<\/p>\n
Djokovic also addressed the physical problems that have been creeping up over the past year. As well as his recent thigh muscle tear, he underwent meniscus surgery last summer.<\/p>\n
“There’s more injuries, for sure,” he stated. “Things are not the same like 10 years ago, 15 years ago.<\/p>\n
“I still try to take care of my body on a daily basis, and it’s more challenging now, no doubt, but I still try to do my very best, given the circumstances.”<\/p>\n
Djokovic is still alive in the doubles draw with Verdasco. They face No. 2 seeds and recent Australian Open champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the second round on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The 37-year-old added: “My plan is to try to go as far as I can in doubles, you know. I’m still in the doubles tournament tomorrow with Verdasco, and I look forward to that. So I’ll stay in Doha at least for one more match, and then we see.<\/p>\n
“I mean, yeah, obviously I was planning to go to Indian Wells and Miami, so I’ll talk with my team after I finish with this tournament.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Novak Djokovic crashed out in the opening round of the Qatar Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\n