Novak Djokovic made history with his run to the Australian Open final two weeks — and has perhaps unsurprisingly given himself further time to recover from his efforts.
After stunning Jannik Sinner in a five-set semi-final in Melbourne, Djokovic was then beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final.
The world No 3 was set for a quick reunion with both world No 1 Alcaraz and world No 2 Sinner at the Qatar Open, with action in Doha taking place from February 16-21.
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However, the Serbian — who has been in the stands at the Winter Olympics this week — has now withdrawn from the ATP 500 event, which he previously won in 2016 and 2017.
Djokovic is yet to comment on his withdrawal, but the tournament has confirmed that the 38-year-old has pulled out due to fatigue after the physical and mental exploits of his Australian Open campaign.
That looks like a wise decision on paper, having been beaten by Matteo Berrettini in his opening Qatar Open match last year, just weeks after he was forced to retire with an injury in the Australian Open semi-final.
With no points to defend at the event, Djokovic’s ranking will not be impacted by his decision to withdraw, although all eyes will now be on when he returns to action.
Where will Djokovic play next?
With Djokovic understandably taking a more selective approach to his scheduling in recent years, it is hard to predict exactly when he will return.
However, it seems more than likely that the Serbian’s next event will be the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells — one of the most prestigious tournaments on the ATP Tour calendar.
Djokovic was on the entry list announced for the event last week, with every top-10 player across both the ATP and WTA Tour set to be in action.
Indian Wells will take place from March 1-15, with the main draw of the event set to start on Wednesday, March 4.
That would give Djokovic just over a month in between the end of the Australian Open and the start of the first Masters 1000 event of 2026, with the Serbian also guaranteed to receive an opening-round bye as a seeded player.
The Serbian holds a joint-record five men’s singles titles at the tournament, tying with fellow tennis great Roger Federer.
However, the Serbian has not won the title — or reached the final — since 2016, and has failed to make the quarter-final in his five tournament appearances since then.
Should Djokovic choose to play, he will look to improve on a shock second-round loss to Botic van de Zandschulp from last season.
If Djokovic chooses to skip Indian Wells, he could then return at the Miami Open, where he was a finalist last year.
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