Novak Djokovic won't defend his ATP Finals title after ruling himself out on Tuesday due to an unspecified injury.

Andrei Rublev is one of the Russian tennis players banned from the Wimbledon tournament. He defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the Serbia Open 2022 final in Belgrade today. Rublev, who is only eighth in the world rankings, beat his opponent 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0.

ROGER FEDERER has explained why he gets injured less than rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic..

Second-seeded Djokovic is chasing a raft of records at Flushing Meadows, where he opens his campaign against Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot.

Novak Djokovic, a four-time champion at the tournament and seeking a record 25th Grand Slam title, was leading 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 when Djere called it quits.

Djokovic finishes a year without claiming at least one major championship for the first time since 2017. Before that, it hadn't happened since 2010.

“I have a lot of great memories winning seven titles there and hope to be back with you next year” , says Novak Djokovic as he skips Paris Masters

Djokovic has won the ATP Finals a record seven times. He beat current No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the title last year.

Novak Djokovic has been pictured soaking up the sun on a Marbella beach, just days after the Serbian tennis ace accidentally broke coronavirus restrictions by taking part in a training session on a clay tennis court.
Read Full Article at RT.com

Six-year-old Yunosuke and four-year-old Koujirou can be seen training on the Swedish and Serbian legends in a viral video.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has come under fire for spruiking the idea people can change the chemical make-up of food and water with their thoughts and emotions.

Six-year-old Yunosuke and four-year-old Koujirou can be seen training on the Swedish and Serbian legends in a viral video.

Novak Djokovic has been involved in controversial talks with a friend on Instagram.

Novak Djokovic has reduced the gap to Roger Federer's record significantly over the past two years.

There is an ongoing debate to crown a member of the 'Big Three' as the greatest of all time.

Todd Martin coached Novak Djokovic in his formative years on the ATP Tour and knows what makes him special.

Ivan Lendl has weighed in on the ongoing GOAT debate.

Ivan Lendl has weighed in on the ongoing GOAT debate.

After the backlash over his anti-vaxxer stance, Novak Djokovic has faced fresh criticism for suggesting that people can alter the make-up of food and water by using mind power and emotions.
Read Full Article at RT.com

Rafael Nadal says Novak Djokovic will need to be vaccinated to keep playing if the governing bodies of tennis make coronavirus shots obligatory once they ...

ROGER FEDERER has explained why he gets injured less than rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic..

As tennis stars disagree over a proposed fighting fund for players during the coronavirus shutdown, it remains clear most lower-ranked professionals struggle to make ends meet plying their trade.

Rafael Nadal thinks the global nature of tennis means there is little chance tournaments will go ahead any time soon as sport continues to be paralysed by the coronavirus pandemic. Novak Djokovic also anticipates a lengthy delay before tennis can be played even behind closed doors, with the world number one expecting players to have to wait a "few months". The French Open, which Nadal has won a record 12 times, has been postponed until September, shortly after the US Open, while Wimbledon was cancelled earlier this month for the first time since World War II.

But the prospect of either grand slams at Roland Garros or Flushing Meadows being played with fans appears increasingly remote. "Tennis is a global sport," Nadal told Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Wednesday night. "We go from country to country and a lot of people have to move around.
"It seems difficult to me for any big tournament to be played in the short or medium term."

Football's major leagues are preparing to play behind closed doors for several weeks to complete their seasons and avoid losing considerable sums of money from broadcasting contracts. But tennis tournaments are more reliant on fans for their income, making it more complicated to stage competitions in empty stadiums. "It is not an easy decision," Djokovic told the same programme.

"I am ready but I think we have to wait a few months." "If you could play behind closed doors, I would be delighted but I think it's very difficult," added Nadal.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Novak Djokovic said that he, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are organising aid for players struggling with the paralysis of the game due to the Coronavirus pandemic. "I spoke to Roger and Rafa a few days ago," Djokovic, the World No. 1, said in an Instagram chat with friend and rival Stan Wawrinka on Saturday.

No support from federation
"We had a long conversation about the near future of tennis, what is going to happen, how we can contribute and how we can help especially lower-ranked players, who are obviously struggling the most. The majority of the players who are ranked between 200, 250 in the world, and the 700th or 1,000th do not have federation support, do not have sponsors. They are completely independent and left alone," he said. "Guys who are ranked between 200-250, especially to 700...are thinking of leaving tennis right now."

He said players, the ATP and the four Grand Slams "would all get together and will contribute to a player relief fund that ATP will distribute." "It looks, hopefully, that there will something between $3 million (2.75 million euros) and $4.5 million that is going to be distributed," he estimated. Djokovic said the cash could come from the prize money for the season-ending World Tour Finals or the final bonus pools for top players.

Lack of tournaments
"Maybe if we don't have any tournaments this season, we can take a certain percentage from our prize money from Australian Open in January," he said. "These guys are the grass roots of tennis. The future of tennis. We need to show them they still can rely on support of the top guys." According to reports in tennis media, Djokovic, as president of the ATP Players' Council, which also includes Federer and Nadal, proposed to members that players in the Top 100 for singles and the Top 20 in doubles contribute according to their rankings.

The proposed scale runs from $30,000 for a Top-5 player to $5,000 for those between 51 and 100. That would raise approximately $1 million and the ATP would make a similar contribution. On Friday, ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi echoed the call for unity on the tour website. "Our guys are at home, obviously unable to play, unable to earn money and financially struggling, so we will try to help," he said.

"I've been quite touched by the top players who reached out, the big names expressing their desire of helping the lower-ranked players and putting those players first. We are also talking with the Grand Slams about it. They may want to join in the effort. I think it would be a great message for the sport." World tennis has been at a standstill since the beginning of March and will not resume until mid-July at the earliest following the postponement of Roland Garros and the cancellation of Wimbledon.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Novak Djokovic has said he would be against a compulsory Coronavirus vaccination if it became a requirement for tennis players to travel to tournaments. "Personally, I'm against vaccination. I wouldn't like that someone forces me to get a vaccine in order to be able to travel," the World No. 1 said late on Sunday.

The Serbian star was speaking from Spain, where he is in lockdown with his family, in a video conference held on his Facebook for Orthodox Easter. "We [players] will have to travel. I think it will be the number one challenge," he said.

"If it [vaccination] will become compulsory what will happen? I will have to take a decision," on whether to get a vaccine or not, he said. "This is my opinion at the moment. Whether it will change I don't know."

No vaccine currently
There is currently no vaccine for the virus that has claimed some 1,65,000 lives around the globe, though labs around the world are racing to develop a treatment. Like the rest of the sporting world, tennis has been on pause since early March, with the ATP and WTA Tours suspended until mid-July at the earliest and Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II.

'No play before Sept, Oct'
Djokovic estimated tournaments would not restart "before September or October". "The season will officially restart when everyone will be 100 per cent certain that people can return, that there is no risk, that people are resistant to the virus and this takes time." Tournaments with travel limited to one country or a region could be possible, he said.

17
No. of Grand Slam singles titles won by Novak Djokovic

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Novak Djokovic has apparently broke confinement rules in Spain by going back to a tennis court. Djokovic posted a video on Instagram showing him exchanging shots with another man at a tennis club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has reportedly stayed. Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay...well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands."

Spain on Monday loosened some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing professional athletes to return to practice. But sports facilities are supposed to remain closed at least until next week in most parts of the country, with the exception of training centres for teams in professional leagues in sports such as soccer.

The Spanish tennis federation said in a statement on Monday that professional players in Spain were allowed to exercise by themselves or with a coach, but not yet on a tennis court. It said it would work on a set of guidelines to inform players and clubs about what they would be permitted to do beginning next week.
The federation's statement did not appear to be related to Djokovic's appearance on the court in Marbella.

Requests for comment made to the federation and to Djokovic's staff late on Monday were not immediately answered. It was not clear if Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open would be subjected to fines or sanctions if it was confirmed he broke the lockdown rules.

The No. 1-ranked Djokovic recently said he was against taking an anti-Coronavirus vaccination if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The tennis club where Novak Djokovic broke confinement rules in Spain has said it mistakenly allowed the top-ranked Serb to practice and apologized for the error. Djokovic published a video of him training on Monday in apparent violation of Spain's current rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. The video posted on Instagram showed Djokovic exchanging shots with another man at the club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has been staying for the past several weeks.

Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay .. well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands. Spain has eased some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March, allowing professional athletes to return to practice, but most training centers and sports facilities must remain closed until next week. We are sorry that our interpretation of the regulation could have been erroneous, and this could have inconvenienced Mr. Djokovic or any other citizen acting in good faith," the Puente Romano Marbella Tennis Club said in a statement.

The statement, which was relayed by Djokovic's management team, said the club received a request from the player to practice and gave him the go-ahead with the "understanding that from May 4 all professional sports players were authorized to train." The club said it therefore believed he was "permitted to train in our facilities." It said it later received a "clarification" from the Spanish tennis federation and "both parties have agreed that training should resume" only next week.

Rafael Nadal said he also went to train on a court this week, but he did it on private property because the rules weren't fully clear to him. Soccer players were among the exceptions who could start training inside sports facilities beginning this week.

Spain has been one of the countries most affected by the pandemic but it started loosening some of its restrictions on movement as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 started to go down recently. The nation went into a lockdown on March 14.

Djokovic recently said he was against taking a vaccine for the coronavirus if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has revealed that fellow tennis star and World No.1 Novak Djokovic was once fanboying on her over dinner. During an Instagram Live chat with the Serbian ace, Sharapova, who called time on her illustrious career in February, said: "I remember we played this little exhibition. I was young, you were young, way before you had any Grand Slam titles. I don't know if you'd even won a tournament at that point," said Sharapova. This part of the chat was shared by ATP Tour on their official Twitter handle.

"We're not going to start hugging trees, right?"@MariaSharapova with the one-liners for @DjokerNole today. 🤣#tennisathome pic.twitter.com/bweyZMuJ2v

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 5, 2020

"You said that if you'd win (in a mixed doubles match), I would have to pay dinner. I was like, ‘Okay, whatever, who is this kid?'" Sharapova recalled. "You won and you were like, ‘We have dinner tonight. We're going to the Japanese place!' I was like, ‘Are you serious? You and me, going to dinner, tonight?' So we did. We ended up going to dinner and it was so funny because you pulled out I think it was an old Kodak camera and you asked the waiter to take a photo of us… and here we are," she further said.

"It's actually what happened. Maria is saying the truth," Djokovic said, laughing. "I think you were fanboying," Sharapova replied. Djokovic recently said that he was "mentally empty" and "confused" at the beginning of the ongoing freeze of the tennis calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The sport has been on a full stop for over a month due to the pandemic outbreak.

Novak Djokovic

Djkovic has enjoyed a revival in form after a slump in late 2017 and most of 2018. He was set to defend his Wimbledon title this year before the grass court Grand Slam was cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

MATTHEW LAMBERT AT QUEEN'S CLUB: Kyrgios gave an interview before the French Open in which he described Djokovic as 'cringeworthy' and said he had a 'sick obsession with being liked'.

Novak Djokovic's title defence at Wimbledon is still yet to come under serious threat as he eased into the last eight for the 11th time on Monday with a comfortable win over Ugo Humbert.

This is only the latest battleground in the tussle to decide who will be considered the greatest of all time. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are likely to stroll through quarter-finals.

LAURA LAMBERT AT CENTRE COURT: Novak Djokovic withstood an early scare to turn the screw on Belgian challenger David Goffin and reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

MATTHEW LAMBERT AT WIMBLEDON: Roberto Bautista Agut will meet Novak Djokovic in the first Grand Slam final of his career after beating Argentina's Guido Pella 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

He's known for his incredible sense of style and David Beckham must have been so into his Wimbledon look on Thursday, he went for something similar the day after. 

Not for the first time this tournament, Novak Djokovic's focus on tennis has been disrupted by the politics around the sport.

Novak Djokovic, 32, is set to compete in his sixth Wimbledon final on Sunday. The Serbian player has just snapped up a three-bedroom apartment at at Eighty Seven Park in Miami.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Defending singles champions perished at the US Open within 24 hours of each other, one departing to a cacophony of booing and the other to supportive cheers.

EXCLUSIVE: The world No 1, who retired from his fourth round match with a shoulder injury, spent the recent US Open with his own private hyperbaric chamber parked up next to Flushing Meadows.

Novak Djokovic made a successful return from a shoulder injury with victory over Alexei Popyrin in the opening round of the Japan Open. He had to retire from the US Open last month.

World No 1 Novak Djokovic has taken an innovative approach to training ahead of the Japan Open by stepping into the dohyo to face a sumo wrestler. 

Djokovic, who is attempting to win a title on his tournament debut for the 10th time, hit 10 aces and saved three of four break points, while showing no ill-effects from his recent shoulder injury.

The world No 1, competing in his first tournament since withdrawing from last month's US Open with a shoulder injury, secured a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Friday.

World number one Novak Djokovic secured his 76th tour-level title by beating John Millman in straight sets at the Japan Open.

Djokovic, who had a bye into round two, took his record over Shapovalov to 3-0 and has now won 22 straight sets in Asia - dating back to his title in Shanghai last year and last week's Japan Open.

Novak Djokovic's semi-final streak in Shanghai is over. The defending champion, a four-time winner of the Masters had reached the semi-finals in all eight of his tournament appearances.

Rafael Nadal has been absent from the Shanghai Masters but is guaranteed to recapture the world No 1 spot next month after Novak Djokovic went down to a shock quarter final defeat in China .

Novak Djokovic has aimed a jibe at outgoing ATP chairman Chris Kermode as the Serbian tennis star welcomed new chairman Andrea Gaudenzi to the tennis organisation on Thursday.