According to the British media "Times", Djokovic and Murray have decided to continue their cooperation until Wimbledon this year, and the two sides may "merge" as early as the first ATP1000 tournament of the year, the Indian Wells Masters.

Djokovic, Murray (Photo: Li Jianyi)

Djokovic and Murray announced their partnership during last year's winter training session, after losing to Opelka in the quarterfinals at the ATP 250 Brisbane at the beginning of the year, before Murray moved to join the German team at the Australian Open. The Serbian king beat Alcaraz in the quarter-finals to advance to the semi-finals, but he retired injured after falling behind in the first set of the semi-final against Zverev and then exited the first round of the Serbia vs Denmark Davis Cup qualifying round.

On Monday local time, Djokovic said in an interview with Montenegrin media "Vijesti" that the injury is close to full recovery and confirmed that he will go to Doha to compete: "The muscle is no longer torn, the injury is close to 100% healing, and I am ready for a new victory." I got permission from the medical team to participate in the tournament and the Doha tournament will start in seven days, so I will play according to the schedule, but luckily I recovered quickly. I've had more injuries in recent times than I've had in the first 15 years of my career, maybe it's a matter of age, but my body is still doing my bidding, and the fire and desire to achieve something new is still burning within me. ”

Photo: Visual China

Djokovic won back-to-back titles in Doha in 2016 and 2017, and his last appearance was in 2018. The Serbian king said he hopes to reach the "100 Championship Milestone" in Doha, and if he wins at that time, he will become only the third male player in the Open era to "break 100" in the number of Tour titles after Connors (109) and Federer (103).

'Now I hope the 100th title will happen in Doha, I've been chasing that for a long time, I've been working on it since October last year, but it will come when it's due. As for the Grand Slam, it's a bigger challenge, a bigger task, but I'm sure I can do it. If I don't think I'm capable of competing with the best players in the world, then I'm not going to keep playing. My victory against Alcaraz at the Australian Open proved that I still have what it takes to compete for the biggest title. ”

The 2025 ATP Doha will start on February 17, and as the tournament is upgraded to ATP 500 this year, the lineup of players will usher in a luxurious configuration, with six of the world's top 10 players participating, in addition to Djokovic, Sinner, Alcaraz, Medvedev, De Minaur and Rublev all appeared, and China's Zhang Zhizhen is currently ranked first on the bench.

(Text, Editor/Faye Wong)