"I still have a burning flame and a desire to achieve": Novak Djokovic uses injury scare as fuel to his fire in Doha
ATP
Novak Djokovic has given a promising update when it comes to his recovery and has spoken after it was mooted that he was set to return from a ruptured muscle in his thigh earlier than expected at the Qatar Open next week.
That is the case with Djokovic now getting the green light. He has now travelled as was previously reported a week early to Qatar to see how his body is having not trained much since his Australian Open retirement in the semi-finals.
But it has now given him that new fuel to the fire that he needs in order to compete and hopefully in his case win a 100th title of his career which remains in his sights.
After losing an 83-minute set to Alexander Zverev, he promptly retired and shared an MRI scan showing the extent of his injury but only three weeks later, he is back and ready to go semi miraculously.
"There is no more rupture in the muscle, the injury is almost 100 per cent repaired and I am ready to go to new work victories," he told Vijesti.
"I have the green light from the medical team that I can train, that I can prepare. The tournament in Doha is scheduled for seven days now so I'm sticking to the schedule. Thank god, I was able to recover quickly."
"I've had a bit more injuries lately than I did in the first 15 years of my career. This probably comes with age, but my body still listens to me, I still have a burning flame and a desire to achieve, and achieve new things."
"I hope that the 100th trophy can come to Doha right now," he continued.
"I've been chasing it for a long time, since October of last year, but about then - it will come when it should come."
Most weeks spent as the ATP World No. 1 in the 2020s
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) February 10, 2025
🥇Novak Djokovic (153)
🥈Carlos Alcaraz (36)
🥈Jannik Sinner (36) pic.twitter.com/r5gjIWHRHR
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