Novak Djokovic said he was bothered by a wrist problem during the Laver Cup in London and that his lengthy absence from the Tour recently could be to blame.
The three-day tournament in London’s O2 Arena was Djokovic’s first event since the Serb won his 21st Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in early July.
The 35-year-old, who missed the North American hardcourt swing and the U.S. Open due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19, produced a dazzling performance on his return to the Tour on Saturday by winning his singles and doubles matches.
However, he lost to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime on the final day of competition on Sunday.
“I have been struggling with my right wrist for the last four, five days, to be honest. I have been keeping it under control,” Djokovic told reporters.
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“The two matches yesterday probably had an effect. Today was not easy. I couldn’t serve as fast or as accurately as I would like to. That has affected the whole game.”
Djokovic said qualifying for November’s ATP Finals in Turin remained his goal and that he will play a tournament in Tel Aviv this week followed by an event in Kazakhstan next week and then the Paris Masters at the end of October.
His Wimbledon victory guarantees him a spot in the Tour-ending Finals if he remains ranked in the world’s top 20.
Djokovic, who is currently ranked seventh, said the wrist issue could be due to a combination of factors.
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“Could be not playing matches almost three months, and then conditions here are such that the balls are really big and slow,” he said.
“You always have to generate a lot of wrist action and speed, which could be the case why I have been feeling soreness.”
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