It's not easy to be in Novak Djokovic's shoes these days. For the first time in his career, he is facing the possibility of being away from the tennis courts for the longer period - 6-12 weeks, according to the doctors. Following his quarter-final exit from Wimbledon when he retired the match after losing the first set to Tomas Berdych in a tie-break, Djokovic surprised the world by saying that his elbow injury is getting worse everytime he plays. It was a heartbreaking moment for Novak's fans. One moment, they expected him to win his fourth Wimbledon title and become the world number one again following his brilliant performance in the first four rounds.
Then he retired the match and suddenly the rest of the season was in question.
Since then, everyone has been wondering what will happen with Novak Djokovic. Will he skip the rest of the season, or maybe just a couple of tournaments? With surgery being one of the options, the whole tennis world was waiting for the response. Now, finally, Zdeslav Milinkovic, the official doctor of Serbia Davis Cup Team, provided an answer to this burning question.
Is Novak Djokovic likely to skip US Open?
Zdeslav Milinkovic told Serbian media that Novak Djokovic would have to rest for 6 to 12 weeks. That means he would miss the US Open that will run from August 28, through September 10. Not only that but he would also have to miss the Davis Cup semi-finals Serbia is playing against France in September, just after the US Open.
And when talking about the possibility that Novak will miss the rest of the season, doctor Zdeslav Milinkovic said that they would have to run some tests. The doctor also confirmed what Djokovic said earlier. The elbow has been a problem for the year and a half and that Novak was able to compete only because of his extraordinary physical abilities and the treatments he had every once in a while.
Unfortunately, the situation has become severe, and it's time for the 12-time Grand Slam champion to take a break from tennis.
What is next for him?
Talking about the injury, Doctor Zdeslav Milinkovic said that the symptoms are calming down which the specialist in Toronto also confirmed. Before the next examination when we will find out whether this assessment is final, Novak Djokovic will do some training without the racket and he would have to go to therapies. The doctor also added that Novak must rest and that the surgery is the last option.
