Novak Djokovic raised fears that he has injured his eye ahead of the Miami Open final. The world No. 5 is set to face Czech teenager Jakub Mensik in Sunday’s championship match, but their contest has been heavily delayed by rain.
When play finally resumes, they will have to wait for the conclusion of the women’s doubles final before they can take to the court. But the hold-up could be the least of Djokovic’s problems, as TV cameras revealed that his eye was swollen during a practice session earlier in the day.
Djokovic is bidding to win a milestone 100th title in Miami. But his hopes of getting his hands on the trophy have been thrown into disarray. The final has already been postponed by rain delays and the 37-year-old now appears to be struggling physically.
ESPN Vivo Spain revealed that Djokovic had a nasty looking eye injury during his pre-final practice session. The area of skin beneath his right eye swelled up and he was given eye drops to use while practising on the court.
The 24-time Major winner wears contact lenses and has had some issues with them in the past. During a match against Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 ATP Finals, he requested eye drops during a changeover and eventually had to run off the court to sort out his lenses.
And at the 2020 Australian Open, Djokovic claimed he “couldn’t see” when he had another problem with the contacts and was given a medical time out to deal with it.
It remains to be seen whether the eye injury affects Djokovic on the court against Mensik. The world No. 5 has a winning record against the 19-year-old, beating Mensik in a three-set quarter-final at last year’s Shanghai Masters.
Djokovic is seeking his first title since he won the Olympic gold medal in Paris last summer. More importantly, he is in search of his 100th tour-level title.
Ahead of the final, the Serb confessed that he had been thinking about the landmark number since clinching his 99th.
“Ever since I won my 99th, which was the Olympic Games in Paris, I’ve been playing with the prospect of winning the special hundred titles,” he said.
“I played finals of Shanghai. I was close there. Semifinals of Australia. Then been trying to find that necessary and much-needed level of tennis that will put me in a position to fight for a trophy, a big trophy.
“That’s what I’ve been doing this week, to be honest. I’ve been very happy with the way I prepared for the tournament, the way I’ve been playing. I haven’t dropped a set. It’s a great opportunity. Let’s see what happens.”
However, Djokovic has been made to wait for his chance to win the Miami Open and title 100. The men’s final was scheduled for not before 8pm UK time but has been heavily delayed by rain.
The women’s doubles final between Russian pair Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider and unseeded pair Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato started at 5.30pm UK time but was suspended after just a few minutes with Andreeva and Shnaider leading 3-0. There has been no play since.
