Novak Djokovic has sparked new concerns ahead of his opening match at the Monte-Carlo Masters after needing to see his physio during a practice session. The world No. 5 was seen grabbing his arm while training on a practice court ahead of his match on Wednesday before his physio came over to help.
Djokovic is set to face Alejandro Tabilo in his first match of the week on Court Rainier III later this afternoon. The 37-year-old had already raised question marks ahead of the tournament when he revealed he had been suffering from an eye infection and needed to see the doctor.
Djokovic is set to return to action for the first time since he lost the Miami Open final to Jakub Mensik. The No. 3 seed in Monte-Carlo this week, he received a bye into the second round and will face Tabilo in a few hours’ time.
The two-time former champion is scheduled to play the third match of the day on the main showcourt. But cameras captured worrying scenes in one of his practice sessions earlier in the day.
After the first match on the court between Daniel Altmaier and Richard Gasquet came to an end, the world feed switched to show footage of Djokovic’s training session. And there was concern as he started grabbing his right forearm while holding his racket.
Djokovic put his racket down at the back of the court and a member of his team raced over to help, massaging the affected area.
“Here is Novak Djokovic who is being looked after by his physio,” commentator Nick Lester said.
“Of course, he’s had some problems with his eye over the last few weeks, particularly in that final in Miami. Hopefully he’ll be okay, just getting the body looked after. It’s a cool day, that doesn’t help the body either.”
Djokovic had also raised concerns ahead of the Miami Open final less than two weeks ago. During another training session, he was spotted with a swollen eye and had to use eye drops while on the practice court.
After the match, the 24-time Major champion said he didn’t want to go into details about the issue or give “excuses” for his defeat. However, ahead of this week’s Monte-Carlo Masters, Djokovic confirmed he was dealing with an infection.
The world No. 5 admitted that his participation in the clay-court event was in doubt. “Particularly because of the infection of the eye and and a little bit of a viral infection I’ve been dealing with last week, but it seems to be okay these days. I mean, not ideal,” he explained.
Asked whether the eye infection hindered him on the court, he replied: “Well the eye, yes.
“Unfortunately, it started in semi-finals day in Miami and so I did struggle with it in the finals. But it’s calming down, I guess. I mean, I’m visiting the doctor later today, so let’s see, should be okay for the for the first round here.”
Signs of the eye infection were clearly visible when Djokovic spoke to the press on Sunday, with some redness and swelling still present. But the 37-year-old did not mention any forearm issues.
It is not known whether the problem only arose during Wednesday’s practice session. It’s a cooler day in Monaco, and Djokovic was wearing a zip-up jacket when he started grabbing his arm.
The third seed will also be out for revenge if and when he takes to the court against Tabilo, as the world No. 32 beat him in their only meeting at last year’s Masters 1000 in Rome.
