"I'm worried about Novak Djokovic's health" - Andrea Petkovic weighs in on Serb's heartbreaking loss to Matteo Berrettini at Qatar Open

Former German tennis player Andrea Petkovic recently commented on Novak Djokovic's loss to Matteo Berrettini at the 2025 Qatar Open. Djokovic last won the tournament in 2017 by defeating Andy Murray in the final.

Djokovic entered the Qatar Open after competing at the 2025 Australian Open where he had withdrawn from the tournament during his semifinals match against Alexander Zverev due to a muscle tear in his upper left leg.

The former World No.1 was seeded third at the ATP 500 hard court tournament in Doha. He faced Matteo Berrettini in the first round and was defeated 6-7(4), 2-6.

Recently, while speaking on 'The Inside-In Tennis Podcast,' Andrea Petkovic discussed Novak Djokovic's loss at the Qatar Open. She speculated that the Serb may have returned to the court too soon after sustaining the muscle tear at the Australian Open, which could have contributed to his defeat against Berrettini.

“Novak, we don’t know when he was able to start practicing with that muscle tear he had in his thigh. So maybe a bit early, the comeback I don’t know we will see whether he says something on it or whether he just needs a bit of time in the competition side. And he’s already doing really well in training and that is sometimes also the case when you come back from injuries. Sometimes you’re already doing tremendously well in training and it just takes a while in competition,” Andrea Petkovic said [41:31].

Petkovic went on to say that she is not worried about the 24-time Grand Slam champion's form on the court as she was thoroughly impressed by his performance against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Major.

However, the German expressed concern for his health, and stated that if he recuperates well and become healthy then his performance will be fine at the upcoming tournaments.

“I’m not worried about Novak, I thought he played so well at the Australian Open. That match against Carlos, some people wanted to put this one on Carlos, I just thought he was outplayed by Novak. I didn’t think he played so badly and so I’m not worried about Novak at all in terms of tennis, just worried about his health and if he’s healthy he will be fine,” she added [41:57].

In addition to competing in the singles event at the 2025 Qatar Open, Novak Djokovic also participated in the doubles event with Fernando Verdasco, who was playing in the final tournament of his professional career.

The duo received a wildcard entry into the main draw and secured a victory over the pair of Karen Khachanov and Alexander Bublik with a score of 6-1, 6-1 in the first round. However, their campaign ended in the quarterfinals with a 5-7, 4-6 loss to the second-seeded pair of Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.

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Novak Djokovic expected to compete at Indian Wells Masters next

Novak Djokovic at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters [Image Source: Getty Images]

Novak Djokovic is next expected to compete at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters which is scheduled to take place from March 2 to March 16, 2025 and the matches will be played on the outdoor hard courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Djokovic has won the ATP Masters 1000 tournament five times, the most singles titles won by a player, a record also held by Roger Federer. The Serb won his first Indian Wells title in 2008 when he defeated Mardy Fish with a score of 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the final.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion claimed his fifth Indian Wells title in 2016 after defeating players like Bjorn Fratangelo, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Feliciano Lopez, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Rafael Nadal on his way to the final. In the championship match, he faced Milos Raonic and emerged victorious with a score of 6-2, 6-0 to win the title.

Last year, Novak Djokovic was the top seed at the Indian Wells Masters and he defeated Aleksandar Vukic in his opening match before falling to lucky loser Luca Nardi in the third round.