Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the next week's Qatar Open due to an elbow injury, that already forced him to miss all tournaments since Wimbledon in July.
"Unfortunately the situation with the elbow has not changed for better since yesterday. I still feel the pain. Therefore, I will have to withdraw from ATP tournament in Doha," Djokovic said in a statement published on his website.
The Serbian tennis player recently had to pull out from Abu Dhabi exhibition for the same reason. The situation with the painful elbow hasn't changed since then and put Novak's participation at forthcoming Australian Open has come in doubt.
The decision to withdraw from Qatar Open has been made after the thorough consultations with the medical team.
"We decided to keep up with the therapies and elbow treatments. Only when I’m 100% ready to play, I will be able to come back. I hope it will be soon. I want to thank everyone for patience and understanding," said Djokovic.
The Australian Open 2018 starts on January 15 in Melbourne.
