Elbow ends 2017 season
For more than a year, Novak Djokovic’s right elbow hurt when he hit serves or forehands. The pain kept getting worse, finally forcing his withdrawal in his Wimbledon quarterfinal. Now, he’s going to give his arm a chance to heal by sitting out the rest of 2017.
Djokovic will miss the U.S. Open, ending his streak of participating in Grand Slam tournaments at 51, and aims to return to the ATP Tour in January. He made the announcement Wednesday — exactly a year to the day after Roger Federer said he would be sidelined for the second half of last season.
“This is one of those injuries where nothing can really help instantly. You just have to allow natural rehabilitation to take its course,” Djokovic said at a news conference in Belgrade, Serbia. “Professionally, this is not, obviously, an easy decision for me.”
Since entering his first major at the 2005 Australian Open, Djokovic has not missed one, the third-longest active run among men. Since then, he has won 12 Grand Slam titles, including the U.S. Open in 2011 and 2015. Only three men have won more major singles championships: Federer (19), Rafael Nadal (15) and Pete Sampras (14).
“The remarkable series has come to an end,” Djokovic said. “My body has its limits, and I have to respect that and be grateful for all that I have achieved.”
He said that Andre Agassi, with whom he recently began working on a part-time basis, will be his coach after the hiatus.