Almost fully recovered from the injury that ended his Australian Open campaign, Novak Djokovic now aims to claim his 100th singles title at the upcoming Qatar Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had to retire from his semi-final match in Melbourne against Alexander Zverev last month after suffering a hamstring injury.
He also pulled out of Serbia’s Davis Cup first-round qualifying match, where they were beaten by Denmark.
However, his medical team has now allowed him to train for the Qatar Open. Djokovic said: “There is no more rupture in the muscle, the injury is almost 100% healed … I have the green light from the medical team to be able to train, to be able to prepare. The tournament in Doha is scheduled for a week now, so I am sticking to the schedule. Thank God, I managed to recover quickly.”
He added: “I have had a few more injuries lately than I did in the first 15 years of my career. That probably comes with age, but my body still listens to me, the flame and desire for achievement and new achievements still burns in me.”
100th title in Doha
Djokovic aims to become the third player in the professional era to win 100 singles titles, joining the ranks of Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103). He will achieve his target if he wins the Qatar Open taking place from Feb 17 to Feb 22.
He nearly secured his 100th title at the Shanghai Masters but was defeated by Jannik Sinner.
Singe-minded in his pursuit, Djokovic declared: “I hope that the 100th trophy can come already in Doha. I’ve been chasing it for a long time, since October last year, but about that – it will come when it’s supposed to come… I know it will come, we’ll see when and where.”