Novak Djokovic
resurfaced in public for the first time since Wimbledon as the most interesting
exhibit of the Australian Open's walking wounded.
The
six-times Melbourne champion played in not just one exhibition tournament but
two on Wednesday as he prepares to take his unaccustomed seeding of number
fourteen in Thursday morning's draw.
He has been recovering from a knee injury although the official reason
yesterday was shoulder problems. The Swiss could join Andy Murray and Kei
Nishikori on the star absentee list.
Djokovic has taken to wearing a sleeve on his
right arm after contending with elbow issues which last saw him pull out of his
Wimbledon quarter-final on the same day that Murray played his last proper
match.
His first assignment was to play in the
Kooyong Classic four miles from Melbourne Park, where he beat world number five
Dominic Thiem 6-1 6-4.
Thiem, however, looked so disinterested it
was hard to read too much into it, and he lost 10-6 in a tiebreak to Lleyton
Hewitt later in the day.
The most notable aspect of his return was
that Djokovic – whose consultant coach Andre Agassi is due to arrive on
Saturday – has slightly remodelled his serve, shortening his action and cutting
short his take back.
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