Novak Djokovic dismisses injury fears ahead of ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic has dismissed any suggestion he is physically struggling ahead of the ATP Finals in Turin.

Djokovic lost out in the final of the Paris Masters to 19-year-old Holger Rune on Sunday, leaving many to wonder if he was carrying an injury in the deciding set, which he uncharacteristically lost from a break up.

He, though, says that was not the case, and he wouldn’t wand to take anything away from Rune by allowing the suggestion to stand.

“I don’t want to talk about that, because I know that you guys might take that as, you know, excuse or something like this why I lost,” Djokovic said.

“No, everything was okay. I mean, it’s normal that when you play day after day and you have some tightness here and there, but I didn’t have an injury. I fought till the last moment. So it wasn’t to be for me today.”

Novak Djokovic will now head to Turin to attempt to win what would be a record-equalling sixth title. He says he is feeling in pretty good shape for it too.

“Every tournament is important at this stage of my career,” he said. “Anywhere I play, I try to win. That’s not a secret.

“That’s kind of my mentality and approach coming into Torino. I feel very good on the court. You know, I think I’m playing very, very good tennis.

“Of course I’m disappointed with the loss, but I was very close. It was just very few points that decided a winner. But the level of tennis that I’m playing is high, and I like my chances. You know, of course every match is like finals there. You know, there is no easy matches.

“You’ve got to be fit, fresh. Good thing is that you have a day between every match in the group stage, so you have time to recover between each match, which is good.

“I played there last year. Played really good tennis. Played semis, tight match against Zverev, who was eventual champion. So I know that the conditions are different.

“The ball is flying more because it’s altitude. It’s quite fast. You’ve got to serve well. I’ll be there some days before to train, and hopefully be at my best.”

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