Djokovic shrugs off questions about possible elbow problem: “I cannot say nothing. I’m okay. I’m fine.”

The world No 1 was beaten by Lorenzo Musetti in Monte-Carlo on Thursday

Norbert Scanella / Panoramic

April 13, 2023

Novak Djokovic shrugged off questions about the state of his right elbow after he was surprisingly beaten by Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday.

In cool, windy conditions, Djokovic wore a sleeve over his right elbow and though he led by a set and 4-2, he was broken eight times as he slipped to a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 defeat after two hours, 54 minutes.

After the match, Djokovic went straight into his press conference and gave uncharacteristically short answers to the six questions asked, most notably to one asking if his elbow was an issue.

“I cannot say nothing (about it),” he said. “I’m okay. I’m fine. Congrats to him. We move on.”

Djokovic, who was well below his usual level, said he played badly but added that the defeat in itself was not a disaster.

Djokovic can't convert the first three set points against Musetti in Monte Carlo. Back on serve in the opening set.

Djokovic playing with a sleeve on his right arm, as he did back in the day in Australia to protect his elbow pic.twitter.com/KMynzJkpae
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) April 13, 2023

“Well, feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly. But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that’s it,” he said. “That’s all I can say. Good luck to him. I don’t think it’s catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because I lost the match. That’s all. Congrats to my opponent. I move on.”

Djokovic had elbow concerns in practice in Monte-Carlo

Djokovic said he will play in next week’s event in Banja Luka, a tournament he is helping to stage, but the elbow injury might be a concern. Djokovic had minor surgery for an elbow injury in 2018 and on Sunday in Monte-Carlo, he looked concerned after seemingly experiencing some pain in a practice session.

The world No 1 said Musetti deserved praise but that he knew it would be a tough encounter. “You always hope for the good day in the office, but yeah, I know I’m not playing so great and he’s playing very well, so I knew it was going to be a tough match,” he said.

And as reporters tried to get a little more information, Djokovic said: “It’s not a great day for me, so I’m not really in the mood to speak.”

Djokovic won the Australian Open in January to equal Rafael Nadal on 22 Grand Slam titles but has played just one event since, in Dubai, having been refused entry to the United States because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19.