D’Arcy Maine
Mar 6, 2025, 09:17 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Novak Djokovic said ahead of the BNP Paribas Open that he is healthy and the viral video of him hobbling into the airport following last month’s tournament in Doha was unrelated to the hamstring injury that forced him to retire from his Australian Open semifinal match in January.
“It was really, yeah, awkward to see that video, because I arrived to the airport and I hit myself really badly as I was walking out, because it was very early, I think, 4 or 5 a.m. I was just limping because I hit myself badly in the ankle,” Djokovic, the tournament’s No. 6 seed, said Thursday. “That’s all. It was just a hit. It was nothing else. But then people connected it to the injury and thought it was something escalating and coming back.
“But anyway, I’m feeling good. I really look forward coming to Indian Wells and Miami this year. I’ll play the Sunshine Double first time after, I think, six years.”
Djokovic, 37, lost in his first-round match in Doha to Matteo Berrettini and drew concern after the airport video appeared on social media. He has