Novak Djokovic has announced his withdrawal from the Davis Cup. This marks a rare absence where Serbia has to participate without its legend. The 37-year-old aimed to extend his unprecedented 11th Australian Open title but suffered a major setback in the semifinals. Djokovic had to retire owing to his injury after losing the first set to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. Now, diagnosed with a torn hamstring, his return seems possible only till the French Open in May. Along with Djokovic, another big tennis star has withdrawn from the Davis Cup tie.

Djokovic’s Australian Open journey ended abruptly due to injury and now it has ruled him out of Serbia’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark, which is set to be played on January 31 and February 1 in Copenhagen. The 37-year-old tennis star confirmed his withdrawal in a statement to Serbian media: “I will not play the Davis Cup, and the tournament in Doha in a few weeks is also still uncertain.” This also raises questions about his participation in the ATP 500 tournament in Doha, scheduled to begin on February 17.

Joining Djokovic on the sidelines is the Canadian tennis pro-Denis Shapovalov, who has also withdrawn from Canada’s Davis Cup tie against Hungary. He confirmed the news on X, writing, “Really disappointed to withdraw from the Davis Cup tie this weekend and I’ll miss playing in front of the home crowd, but I’m still struggling with some back pain and need to continue rehabbing. Good luck to the team this weekend 💪🙏🇨🇦.”

Shapovalov’s current ranking is No. 53, and he plans to focus on rehabilitation and aims to return for an ATP tour event in Dallas next week. The 25-year-old Canadian recently suffered a loss in the second round of the Australian Open from the 16th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy. Shapovalov’s withdrawal now leaves Canada without its top two singles players. Felix Auger-Alliassime, the world No. 23, is also unavailable, as he opted to concentrate on the indoor hard court season in Europe.

In addition to Djokovic and Shapovalov, several other prominent players have withdrawn from their respective Davis Cup ties. These include Cameron Norrie, Elias Ymer, Sumit Nagal and Jack Draper, each citing varying reasons. As Novak Djokovic and these players take time, we, as fans, need to brace for these changes as teams will have to adapt and perform without their star players. Meanwhile, what’s the update on the Serb’s injury?

Novak Djokovic’s injury can take ‘a couple months,’ may return by French Open

Novak Djokovic’s hamstring injury is expected to keep him out for “a couple months” potentially taking his return to May. After the match, Djokovic shared an MRI scan of his injury on social media X, writing, “Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury ‘experts’ out there.”

During the Australian Open final, ESPN’s Chris Fowler consulted sports injury analyst Marty Jaramillo about Djokovic’s condition. Jaramillo noted the severity of the injury. Further, Chris Fowler said, “That’s no joke, that’s a pretty deep tear.” He further added, “You can’t rush a hamstring, you’ve got to be very sure before going back out there. Typically if you’re looking at injuries like that in sports, you’re looking at a couple months.”

Djokovic can now possibly return for the competitive tennis in The French Open, which will be played from May 25 to June 8. The 37-year-old has not won a Grand Slam title since the 2023 US Open. However, he did claim gold at the París Olympics last year, defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final. He currently remains tied to Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 major titles.

The Davis Cup will now proceed without several stars. Who according to you will win the Davis Cup this year? Let us know in the comments.