The players completed just one set before Djokovic shook hands with the German and ended the match. He decided to stop playing after a hamstring injury began to cause him more pain.

It appeared as though Djokovic would be out at least until the spring, but now fans at the Doha Open may well seem to appear on court after all.

Will Novak Djokovic play at the Doha Open?

It was suspected that Novak Djokovic would be out of action for at least two months, but that is no longer the case.

On Saturday news outlet Sportal reported that Djokovic had scans since returning to Belgrade from Melbourne and the muscle tear is not as severe as first thought and could return to training this week.

While he has not trained since his injury just yet, the same publication says Djokovic will travel to Doha next week to practice and acclimatise to the conditions in the Middle East.

The tournament is set to commence on February 17, and Djokovic will make his first appearance at the Doha Open since 2018 should step on court.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion won the title in 2016 and 2017, beating Rafael Nadal and his coach Andy Murray in those finals respectively.

Novak Djokovic to make a change to his team at the Doha Open

Sportal also reports that one of Djokovic’s physiotherapists Miljan Amanović will not travel to Qatar for the Doha Open.

The former World number one will be accompanied by his other physiotherapist Claudio Cimalja.

It is still unknown if Djokovic and Murray will continue their partnership. The pair shocked the world when they joined forces at the Australian Open.

Murray sat in the courtside coaching boxes at Melbourne Park advising Djokovic and encouraging him from the sidelines as he played some of his best tennis to reach the last four.

In their initial announcement the pair only committed to working together up until the first Grand Slam of the year, and it remains to be seen if Murray will remain part of Djokovic’s team as a coach moving forward.

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