DJOKOVIC HOPES ‘PRIVATE ISSUES’ ARE BEHIND HIM

NEW YORK: An otherwise routine day started with a rumour that Novak Djokovic (in pic) might pull out of the 2016 US Open with a lingering wrist injury, then hit an unexpected climax when the world No 1 admitted for the first time that “private issues” had derailed his assault on a calendar grand slam at Wimbledon. Djokovic – the Australian and French Open champion who plays the Pole Jerzy Janowicz in the first round here – was candid without being explicit on Friday when asked to recall the background to his shock third-round defeat at Wimbledon by the American Sam Querrey. “It’s tough to go back now and talk about that,” a sombre Djokovic said. “It was nothing physical. It’s not an injury. It was some other things that I was going through privately. But it’s nothing that was linked to the wrist injury I got in Rio.” Further pressed here on whether the private issue had been resolved, he said, “Yes, it is. Thank you for asking. It is and everything is fine. Again, I am in a position, like everybody else, we all have private issues and things that are more challenges than issues.”