Djokovic battling wrist issue, eyes ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic said he was bothered by a wrist problem during the Laver Cup in London and that his lengthy absence from the Tour recently could be to blame.The three-day tournament in London’s O2 Arena was Djokovic’s first event since the Serb won his 21st Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in early July.The 35-year-old Serbian, who missed the North American hardcourt swing and the US Open due to not being vaccinated against Covid-19, produced a dazzling performance on his return to the Tour on Saturday by winning his singles and doubles matches.However, he lost to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime on the final day of competition on Sunday.“I have been struggling with my right wrist for the last four, five days, to be honest. I have been keeping it under control,” Djokovic told reporters.“The two matches yesterday probably had an effect. Today was not easy. I couldn’t serve as fast or as accurately as I would like to. That has affected the whole game.” Djokovic said qualifying for November’s ATP Finals in Turin remained his goal and that he will play a tournament in Tel Aviv this week followed by an event in Kazakhstan next week and then the Paris Masters at the end of October. His Wimbledon victory guarantees him a spot in the Tour-ending Finals if he remains ranked in the world’s top 20.Djokovic, who is currently ranked seventh, said the wrist issue could be due to a combination of factors.“Could be not playing matches almost three months, and then conditions here are such that the balls are really big and slow,” he said.“You always have to generate a lot of wrist action and speed, which could be the case why I have been feeling soreness,” he said.