2 days Ago By Ciaran Wiseman
Novak Djokovic declined to speak about a nasty eye injury after losing the Miami Open final.The issue first appeared during the Serbian’s final practice session before facing Czech youngster Jakub Mensik on Sunday.ESPNDjokovic appeared to have a nasty eye injury during his practice session[/caption]ESPNHis right eye appeared swollen alongside a red mark on the top of his cheek[/caption]Both players had to contend with a lengthy delay in Florida caused by heavy rain at the Hard Rock Stadium, before Mensik came out to win 7-6 7-6.
Ahead of the match, Djokovic was filmed on court going through his practice routine.However, the cameras quickly picked up on swelling around his right eye, with a red mark also visible on his cheek.Coverage of his session also showed him using eye drops to treat the issue during a break in play.
Djokovic called it ‘a weird day’ and said he ‘really prefers not to talk about’ his eye, but added: “I didn’t feel my greatest on the court.”Reports suggest it was a stye that caused the swelling around his right eye.Djokovic has previously battled through eye issues in his career, most recently in 2022.
During a clash with Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Tour Finals, he requested eye drops before having to run off court to fix his contact lenses.Meanwhile, a similar incident occurred at the 2020 Australian Open, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion claiming he couldn’t see as a result of a problem with his contacts.After the match, Djokovic said: “It’s unfortunate for me.
Two tiebreaks, just very weird match, weird day with rain delay and all the things that were happening. ESPNDjokovic was seen applying eye drops during his final practice session[/caption]“Honestly, I didn’t feel my greatest on the court, but it is what it is. Nothing to take away from his victory.
”The defeat leaves Djokovic without a title on tour since the ATP Finals in 2023. His only success in 2024 came at the Olympics.For 19-year-old Mensik, he won his first ATP Masters 1000 event and became the second-youngest Miami Open champion.
That honour is still reserved for Carlos Alcaraz, who won it in 2022 as an 18-year-old.“There is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in the finals,” said Mensik, who lost his only previous meeting with Djokovic in Shanghai.“You’re the one I idolised when I was young.
I started playing tennis because of you.Djokovic is still waiting for his 100th career titleGetty“But of course I felt really great and it’s my time, so I just tried to focus on the match like I did before in previous rounds.”.
