Novak pulls out of Abu Dhabi event

Neither Djokovic nor Murray has played since the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic’s Australian Openparticipation is in doubt after he was forced to withdraw from an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, with Andy Murray taking his place instead.

Djokovic has not played since his Wimbledon quarter- final defeat to Tomas Berdych in July because of an elbow injury, and had been due to make his long-awaited comeback at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

However yesterday morning he was forced to pull out of his scheduled match against Roberto Bautista Agut and, in a statement published on his website, the 12-time Grand Slam winner admitted that the longstanding injury “might affect the start of the season”. The Australian Open starts on January 15.

“I am terribly disappointed that I am forced to withdraw from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship,” Djokovic wrote.

“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.

“I am very sad because I was eager to return to playing official matches. 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.” Tournament organisers subsequently announced that Murray, who is himself recovering from a long-term injury and has not played competitively since his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Sam Querrey, will now play Bautista Agut in a one-set exhibition match.

Murray arrived in Abu Dhabi on Thursday morn- ing in an attempt to step up his pre-season preparations ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season and had initially intended only to make use of the practice courts before Djokovic’s withdrawal.

The British number one is scheduled to make his return at the Brisbane International next week, although he may yet to decide to skip the event if he feels he needs longer to recover from the hip injury that ruined the secondhalf of his 2017 campaign. THE INDEPENDENT Arsene Wenger will clamber ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson on Sunday, managing his 811th Premier League game, leaving him with a record that has been 21 years in the making. From Sunday afternoon, afterwards Wenger will be alone at the mountain. If he completes the season, and the next one, and leaves in May 2019 at the end of his contract – famous last words – he will finish on 866 Premier League matches.

But will anyone ever meet him there, not least serving so long at one club? Records are there to be broken, but even then it would be a surprise if anyone ever gets close. Not because Wenger is the Don Bradman or Lionel Messi of managers, so gifted that it is statistically unlikely anyone could manage for as long as him. Of course they could. But because his longevity at Arsenal is not just a function of his skills, but of the political structure of the club, and of English football.

When Wenger was asked to explain his longevity at his press conference on Wednesday morning, he pointed, sounding as academic as ever, to a “conjunction of factors”. First to the “loyalty, dedication and hard work, the sacrifice of your life” that the job demanded. Then “luck”, that he “did not miss one game in 21 years”, which means he “needs to be healthy”. And more “luck”, that he could work for a club that trusted him, “through good and bad periods”.

at last point is the key. Because Wenger’s 21 years at Arsenal makes him the last link from the time when the manager was the all-powerful position at the club, with a hand in the team, the training, the logistics, the recruitment, the contracts and all the rest of it. When he arrived at Arsenal in 1996 most managers enjoyed that same power, but Wenger did so well with it. THE INDEPENDENT