World No.1 Novak Djokovic had cast doubts over his further participation after his epic five-set third-round victory at the 2021 Australian Open. Djokovic suffered an abdominal muscle tear during the third set against Taylor Fritz, which hampered his movement.

Post his third-round victory, Djokovic seemed dejected on having encountered a serious injury and was worried whether he would be able to recover timely.

Due to injury, Djokovic didn’t train on Saturday and raised doubts over competing in the next round. The defending champion underwent medical tests yesterday and waited for the reports before taking a decision.

Novak Djokovic ready to compete

However, in what can only be described as a magnificent development, Djokovic will play in his fourth-round match against the Canadian, Milos Raonic.

After consulting the physiotherapists at the tournament, Djokovic was given the green light as they seemed optimistic about the minor injury.

The physios felt confident that Djokovic could play tonight and would be at the receiving end of the best treatment possible to get ready for the match.

Withdrawing from the tournament would have been devastating for Djokovic since he has won a record eight titles at the Australian Open.

But having not practiced over the last two days, Djokovic will find it slightly tougher to battle against the hard-hitting Raonic.

The duo has faced off 11 times against each other, with Djokovic having a flawless 11-0 head-to-head record. Djokovic last played against Raonic in the final of the 2020 Cincinnati Masters and won the match despite losing the opening set.

Interestingly, the duo locked horns in the quarterfinals of last year’s Australian Open, a match in which Djokovic triumphed in straight sets.

However, it cannot be said whether Djokovic will be able to compete without any restriction to his movement. Nevertheless, the No.14 seed Raonic is at an advantage, of which he should extract the maximum benefit by returning well to break Djokovic’s serve.