"He’s a mastermind when it comes to recovery": Djordje Djokovic gives health update on his brother Novak

Novak Djokovic's brother, Djordje, commented on the health status of the 24-time Grand Slam champion after he withdrew from the Paris Masters. The Serbian World No. 5 recently competed in the Shanghai Masters and the Six Kings Slam—retiring mid-match in the latter, while playing for third place against Taylor Fritz.

The Serbian had a great campaign at the Shanghai Masters up until the semi-finals, and at that point, he was already considered the favorite to take the title. However, he crashed against the surprise of the tournament: the Monégasque Valentin Vacherot—the eventual champion of his first Masters 1000—bringing an end to a week where physical problems became evident.

At 38, physical battles are a factor for Djokovic, especially when it comes to long-duration tournaments. After his Shanghai campaign, he quickly traveled to Riyadh for the Six Kings Slam, where he began as a semi-finalist and debuted against Jannik Sinner.

In his appearance, Djokovic was completely surpassed by the Italian and ended up being eliminated. Two days later, he went out to dispute third place against Taylor Fritz, but only played the first set, retiring after losing 6-7, and leaving the American as the third-place finisher of this year's edition.

The former No. 1 had already been casting doubt for weeks on how his year-end schedule would be configured, assuming he was unsure about participating in the Paris Masters or the ATP Finals. In any case, Nole already had his presence confirmed for the ATP 250 Athens Open, which he said was the only tournament he was completely sure he expected to play.

The event in Athens will be its first edition and will take place between November 2 and 8. It is the tournament organized by the Djokovic family, which changed the locality of the Belgrade Open to Athens—precisely while Novak's family decided to relocate to the Greek capital, amid apparent conflicts with the Serbian government.

Just as Djokovic and his family moved to Athens, so did the ATP 250 tournament, which will be held this year in Athens. As part of the inauguration of the Hellenic Championships tournament, Novak's younger brother, Djordje Djokovic, was in charge of directing the launch of the tournament, and of course, he had words regarding his brother's present and his state of health.

“He withdrew from Paris, but he is working hard to recover. He has specific problems that worsened in Shanghai,” Djordje Djokovic said. “He feels good now, he is doing everything in his power to be in the best possible condition and play in Athens. He has said how important it is for him to play in this competition, in front of the Greek fans. He is a mastermind when it comes to preparation and recovery, and that is why he is the best.”

Djokovic's withdrawal from Paris was not much of a surprise, considering that the Serbian had already cast doubt on his participation in the tournament. For some time now, Nole himself has aimed exclusively at Grand Slam tournaments as his major objectives—in addition to competitions representing Serbia—and the Masters 1000 tournaments have taken a back seat, especially when the season is nearing its end and there are no more majors ahead until 2026.

“Dear Paris, unfortunately I’ll not compete at this year’s @RolexPMasters,” he said. “I have amazing memories and great success over the years, especially being able to conquer the title 7 times. Hope to see you next year. Merci 🙏🏼”

The Serbian holds 40 Masters 1000 titles—an absolute record, like many others he holds—and in the case of Paris, this includes 7 titles—making it the Masters 1000 setting where the Serbian star has won the trophy the most times, with a record of 50-9.