Novak Djokovic’s 2025 season began with the semifinals reached at the Australian Open, after the Serbian legend was surprised by Reilly Opelka in his first tournament. The former world No. 1 had not played his best tennis in the first week of the Happy Slam, but he shocked everyone in the quarterfinals by beating Carlos Alcaraz despite a left thigh injury.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion tried to overcome the pain and was also competitive in the first set of the semifinal against Alexander Zverev, before deciding to retire so as not to worsen his situation.
The 37-year-old from Belgrade also posted on social media the resonance of his left thigh injury to silence his detractors and take revenge on the Australian crowd, which had loudly booed him because of his retirement against Zverev.
Nole’s injury turned out to be less serious than expected and fans will be able to see him in action as early as Doha next week. The Serbian will try to win his first title in 2025, but it will not be easy at all due to the presence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Nole is back in action
Djokovic returned to practice only this week after recovering from injury and will try to use the first matches in Qatar to recover the best sensations. The former world number 1 will not be able to count on the support of Andy Murray, who will return to his box in Indian Wells at the beginning of next month (it is already certain that their collaboration will continue at least until Wimbledon).
One of Novak’s main goals in this segment of the season – in addition to trying to win the 100th title of his legendary career – is to get as close as possible to the top positions of the ATP ranking in view of Roland Garros.
Nole currently occupies the seventh position in the ATP ranking, after being overtaken by Alex de Minaur who reached the final in Rotterdam last week. The Serbian ace could also be overtaken by Daniil Medvedev, who reached the finals in Marseille.v
Tennis World USA