US Open | Novak Djokovic in a race against time to recover from wrist injury

US Open | Novak Djokovic in a race against time to recover from wrist injury

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World No.1 Novak Djokovic is yet to fully recover from the injury he suffered on his left wrist before the Rio Olympics, where he faced a first round exit. With the US Open starting on Monday, the defending champion is in a race against time to regain full fitness ahead of his first round clash.

"The wrist hasn`t been in ideal shape for the last three-and-a-half weeks but I`m doing everything in my power to make sure I`m as close to 100 percent as possible during the course of this tournament, at least for the beginning of it.

"Sometimes time is what you need as an athlete and because the U.S. Open is around the corner I don`t have too much time," Djokovic told reporters on Friday, according to Reuters.

Djokovic, who completed a career grand slam earlier this year by winning the French Open, has been undergoing “electricity treatments”, and the injury means he might have difficulty executing his backhand shots.

"I`ve gotten better. I`m just hoping that Monday, when the tournament starts, I`ll be able to get close to the maximum of executing my backhand shot as possible," The Serb added.

At Wimbledon, Djokovic faced a third-round exit at the hands of Sam Querrey. After the match, Djokovic had claimed that he was “not really” 100 percent. However, now the 29-year-old has revealed that the issue was more personal than physical.

"It was nothing physical, it was not an injury. It was some other things that I was going through privately. But it was nothing linked to the wrist injury I got in Rio.

"We all have private issues and things that are more challenges than issues, things we have to encounter and overcome in order to evolve as a human being. That was the period for me. Was resolved and life is going on like everything else."

"The third-round loss at Wimbledon to Sam allowed me to take some time and really regroup and think about what was achieved with the French Open.

"It gave me so much but it took a lot out of me as well. I really went all the way until the end in every sense of my being. After that, it took a bit of time for me to get centered again.

"I know that there is a little room still for me to get better physically. Hopefully, that`s going to be the case next couple days. Then, when the tournament starts, all the doors are open," Djokovic said, before signing off.

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