Novak Djokovic hasn’t played a single match on grass this season.
The Serb was last seen in action at the French Open, where he lost to Joao Fonseca in the third round.
He had been expected to attend the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club, where he was due to play Karen Khachanov in an exhibition match.
Who is your pick for the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title? 🏆
Predict your champion now!
Unfortunately for those in attendance, that match never took place.
Novak Djokovic skips Karen Khachanov exhibition match before Wimbledon
Djokovic didn’t play Khachanov on Wednesday at the Hurlingham Club.
What’s concerning is that no reason was given for the decision.
At 39, Djokovic’s fitness is always a topic of discussion, so decisions like these are bound to raise alarm bells.
Now, the good news for fans of the 24-time Grand Slam champion is that Djokovic was instead pictured training on the grounds of Wimbledon.
He may simply have turned down the opportunity to play a match, which is an understandable decision given the weather in London.
While the conditions are expected to cool in time for Wimbledon, temperatures exceeded 35°C in England on Wednesday.
There is arguably more to lose than there is to gain from playing in such extreme conditions.
Still, it would have been good to see what level the seven-time Wimbledon champion could produce before he plays his first-round match at SW19.
Djokovic was a losing semi-finalist last year, coming up short against Jannik Sinner.
He did, however, exact some degree of revenge on the world number one, taking him down at the Australian Open earlier this year.
With Carlos Alcaraz out of the picture at Wimbledon, Sinner and Djokovic are the two favourites to clinch the title, and any meeting between the pair on grass could decide the winner.
TalkingPoints fans predict the Wimbledon champion
| Player | Vote share | Wimbledon record | Wimbledon win % |
| Jannik Sinner | 43% | 20-4 | 83% |
| Novak Djokovic | 19% | 102-13 | 89% |
| Other | 13% | – | – |
| Alexander Zverev | 8% | 16-9 | 64% |
| Ben Shelton | 5% | 8-3 | 73% |
| Taylor Fritz | 5% | 18-9 | 67% |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 4% | 7-6 | 54% |
| Alex de Minaur | 3% | 13-6 | 68% |
Interestingly enough, though, while Djokovic skipped his exhibition match, Sinner made his long-awaited return to tennis…
Jannik Sinner makes winning return to tennis against Cameron Norrie
Having not played since his shocking French Open defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, all eyes were on Sinner as he returned at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic.
The Italian took on the home favourite Cameron Norrie in a best-of-three exhibition match, which he won, 6-3, 6-3.
Sinner looked comfortable throughout, dealing well with the conditions that have caused him so many problems this year.
Wimbledon begins next week on Monday, June 29.
