Dubai: It is not often you could accuse Novak Djokovic of not having his eye in.
Down by a set to Feliciano Lopez in their quarter-final late on Thursday, Djokovic called a sudden retirement, sending shock waves followed by boos, cat-calls and whistles to a near-full Dubai Tennis Stadium.
A hurried meeting on the lawns besides the side courts saw the reigning world number one and four-time Dubai champion explain that his exit due to an eye problem may have been down to his contact lenses.
Having lost the opening set 3-6 against Feliciano Lopez on centre court on Thursday night, followed by the sudden withdrawal, Djokovic’s unbeaten run of making it to 17 finals came to a grinding halt.
He is already eyeing the future though.
“Of course next will be Davis Cup back home [against Kazakhstan] and then I will go to Indian Wells, Miami, and of course the clay court season later,” Djokovic told media at the hurriedly convened meeting.
Djokovic had an amazing 2015 season, during which he made 15 straight finals in one year, of which 10 of these were top tier tournaments that he went on to win. But on Thursday, he blamed an eye infection.
“I have had it [eye infection] ever since I arrived to Dubai. It started with an infection and then severe allergy. That’s what I was told. It’s gotten worse in the last (few) days, unfortunately. It’s the first time that I have had such a problem with the eye. It was unfortunate. It was ultra sensitive today, the lights, and it just wasn’t to be. I’m really sad to finish the tournament this way. I apologise to all the people who came in to watch the match. I apologise to the tournament director and everybody who came out to support me,” Djokovic said.
“I’m really sad to end the tournament this way, but I was forced to,” he shrugged.
Djokovic, decked in shades against the dark night, further admitted that he had disobeyed doctor’s instructions.
“I was instructed not to wear contact lenses because of the fact that lenses are actually not helping this situation. They are making it worse. So I was wearing contacts only on the match last night [Wednesday] and today (Thursday). Other than that, I was not wearing them at all,” he said.
“You know, that’s all I can say. If I had a third eye I would play the tournament. I’m sorry that I’m talking to you now with my sunglasses at 10pm.
“It’s not a usual sight,” he added.
Down 1-2 in the first set, Djokovic requested the tournament doctor on court. After some treatment of the eye, he battled through the set that his Spanish opponent went on to win in 33 minutes 6-3. “There was not much that they could do on the court basically when I invited them down. It didn’t feel right in any way for me today. I know that already from the very morning today (Thursday), and the practice session was just awful as well. Yeah, I tried. You know, at the end of the day, I tried and I hope that people will recognise that,” the World No 1 added.
And for all his fans, Djokovic had some words of consolation. “Physically I feel fine, and mentally as well. It’s just something that I hope that is going to vanish after several days, but on the contrary, it was getting worse. I have to deal with it,” he disclosed.
“It’s in both the eyes now. It started with the right but the right one is worse but it is both now,” he added.
Ending such a great run was the least of his worries as he hoped to make a quick and strong comeback.
“This is the least of my thoughts at the moment. I just hope that this problem with the eye will fade away in the next couple of days. I got a lot of important events waiting for me in the next period,” he said.
When his medical issue heals, it is unlikely to be long before he has his sights set on more titles again.
