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By Tennis Now | Friday, December 29, 2017

 
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship due to a recurrence of elbow pain.

Photo credit: Qatar Tennis Federation

A recurrence of his elbow injury has put Novak Djokovic in doubt for the Australian Open.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from his scheduled exhibition comeback in Abu Dhabi after experiencing pain in his right elbow.

Watch: Federer's Australian Adventure

“I am terribly disappointed that I am forced to withdraw from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship," Djokovic said in a statement. "Unfortunately, in the past few days I started to feel pain in the elbow and after several tests, my medical team has advised me not to risk anything, to withdraw from the tournament and to immediately continue with the therapies."



The Australian Open begins on January 15th. The quick turnaround time puts Djokovic in doubt for the Melbourne major.

“I am very sad because I was eager to return to playing official matches," Djokovic said. "I enjoyed the practices and everything I did to get ready for the start of the season, including the tournament in Abu Dhabi, where I always enjoy playing.

"Now I need to accept this situation, and to wait for the results of the therapies, in order to start playing tennis again and getting back to full rhythm. This might affect the start of the season and the tournament plan, but the decision will be made in the following days.”

The 30-year-old Serbian pulled the plug on his season in July in order to heal from the elbow injury that pained him for nearly 18 months. Djokovic’s streak of 51 consecutive Grand Slam appearances—the seventh-longest streak overall—ended when he missed the 2017 US Open.

Djokovic went about four months without swinging a racquet before resuming training in Monte Carlo with coaches Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek.

Now, the six-time Australian Open champion is in jeopardy of missing his second straight Grand Slam.


 

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