It was not the start Novak Djokovic envisioned for the new season for sure! After a disappointing 2024 campaign with zero Grand Slams, Djokovic’s struggles on the ATP Tour continue as he suffers a stunning first-round exit at the Qatar Open, his first opening-round loss since April 2022. Hard to believe, right? However, moments after the match, the Serbian set the record straight, shutting down one major speculation surrounding his early exit. And what’s that? Well, he cleared the air on the injury that forced him out of the Australian Open.

After a mid-match retirement in the semifinal of the Australian Open, the Serbian maestro returned to action, facing 35th-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini in the R32 of the ongoing Qatar Open. In their fifth career showdown, where Novak had previously dominated with four wins, Berrettini flipped the script, delivering a commanding performance. The Italian fired 75 percent of his first serves and blasted 13 aces, sealing a stunning 6-7(4), 2-6 victory.

With his chase for a historic 100th title put on hold, the 24-time GS champion Djokovic addressed his shocking early exit, and talked about his injury situation as well. “I didn’t have any pain or discomfort in that sense. I was outplayed by just a better player today. Yes, I wasn’t at my desired level, and it could be that I’m still not moving the way I want to move, but, I mean, I played without pain, so there is no excuse for that. He was just the better player. I think he played a master class match, to be honest, tactically, and served very well, so just a very deserved win from his side,” Djoker revealed. But what actually happened at the Australian Open?

The 10-time AO winner sustained a muscle injury during his QF clash against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, a highly anticipated showdown that quickly took an unexpected turn in the first set. In the latter stages of the first set, the Serbian was forced to take a medical timeout, sparking concerns about his fitness. And, when he returned with his thigh heavily strapped, many questioned whether he could end the match with the muscle tear in his left leg. However, Novak, being Novak, fought back, defying the odds to defeat the 4-time GS winner and book a blockbuster SF against the German No. 2 Sascha Zverev.

However, after battling through the first set of the QF against Zverev, the Olympic gold medalist was unable to continue the match, ultimately conceding a walkover to the German and handing him a golden opportunity to win his maiden Slam title. Zverev, however, eventually lost the final against Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic shared his thoughts about his mid-match retirement later, stating “I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Medications and, I guess, the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today. But yeah, towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”

Now, as things stand, Djokovic is out from the ATP 500 tour event in Qatar and will next play at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells where he has already won 5 times. But, before that, the Serb further shared his remarks on the devastating loss from the injury comeback!

“Things are not the same as 10 years ago” — Novak Djokovic after his shocking defeat against the Italian

Nobody saw it coming! Djokovic, a former two-time Qatar Open winner (2016, 2017), seemed poised for a strong start to the season, especially after an impressive AO run, despite battling an injury. The Serbian took down Nishesh Basavareddy, Tomas Machac, Jiri Lehecka, and even Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne before being forced to withdraw in the semifinals. But in Doha, things didn’t go his way!

Facing a fired-up 28-year-old Matteo Berrettini, Djokovic struggled to find his rhythm, while the Italian unleashed 33 winners, including 19 from his forehand, against 23 unforced errors. By defeating the Serbian legend, the Italian achieved his first victory against a top-10 opponent in over two years. And after his shocking first-round exit, Djokovic was pretty frank with his thoughts on what went wrong!

The 37-year-old now holds a 7-3 record in 2025. However, during his post-match press conference, he confirmed that he would continue working with Andy Murray at least until the end of the clay season. He also emphasized that he remained focused and determined to keep pushing forward, trying to add more trophies to his collection.

“I am trying to improve my game, as everybody else. But my game is not going to change now drastically. I’m not going to play serve and volley, maybe every once in a while, but my game is what it is, the core is going to be the same. I’m going to try to adjust depending on the surface that I play on and so forth,” Djokovic said.

Continuing further, he added, “There are more injuries. Things are not the same as 10 years ago, 15 years ago. I still try to take care of my body on a daily basis, and it’s more challenging now, no doubt. I still try to do my very best, given the circumstances,”.

After his surprising exit from the Qatar Open, are you backing Djokovic to win his 100th ATP tour title at the upcoming Indian Wells tournament? It won’t be easy given his recent form and fitness, but it’s Djokovic. So you never know!