Djokovic’s Injury Makes His Future Uncertain

Written by: Staff on 6th November 2011

Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle

Djokovic’s Injury Makes His Future Uncertain

Serbia's Novak Djokovic gets a medical treatment during his semifinal match against Japan's Kei Nishikori at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, November 5, 2011. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS |

Two months ago Novak Djokovic’s record for 2011 was poised to re-write tennis history. Today he wondering whether the physical pain in his right shoulder and back are so insurmountable he might have hit his last competitive shot for the year.

After the world No.1 went down 2-6 7-6 6-0 in the Swiss Indoors semi-final to Japan’s Kei he revealed all week a sore shoulder had been troubling him, similar to the injury which forced him to quit the Cincinnati final in August against Andy Murray before the US Open.

“I could barely serve for much of the match, I was in pain,” said the Serb, who has won ten titles in 2011 but only returned this week after six weeks out with a back injury.”

“My shoulder is very bad, we won’t even talk about the third set. I have a lot of pain in my body from the competition this week.”

Although Djokovic was today heading for Paris, he is not optimistic about his chances of being fit to contest the final Masters 1000 series event of the year, the BNP Paribas Masters at Palais Omnisports de Bercy.

“I hope I can be ready for Paris,” he said without any real conviction. “I don’t think I’ll be able to train for the next few days.”

Djokovic said that his grueling first-round win over Xavier Malisse on Tuesday could have set the tone for the rest of the week. “It was a shock to the body,” he said of the opening struggle. “Competition is different to practice.

“I may have forced things too much I was feeling afraid of the shoulder and what might happen to it.”

World no.2 Rafael Nadal has already announced he will not be playing at Bercy, prioritizing the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London and then the Davis Cup final against Argentina in Seville.

“DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”

Topics: Navak Djokovic