Novak Djokovic to play in Tokyo after shoulder injury

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 01: Trainer Paul Ness tends to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during his Men’s Singles fourth round match against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland on day seven of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 01, 2019 in Queens borough of New York City. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

World number one Novak Djokovic, forced out of the US Open with a shoulder injury, is back in training and will play in Tokyo next week, a member of his press team told AFP.

The 32-year-old Serbian star has “started to train and the situation with his shoulder is a bit better,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier this month Djokovic was forced to pull out of his US Open fourth round clash with three-time Slam winner Stan Wawrinka due to a nagging injury in his left shoulder.

Serbia’s media quoted Djokovic as saying he had been “training without pain for two days already”.

His return means he could play out the season and hold off a challenge to his number one ranking from US Open winner Rafael Nadal.

“It makes me very optimistic that I could play until the end of the season as I planned,” Djokovic was quoted as saying.