Djokovic Forced Out Of Dubai By Eye Ailment

Novak Djokovic’s streak of ATP World Tour finals reached will end at 17 after the World No. 1 retired against Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday. The Serb was down 3-6 before retiring.

“It’s an eye problem,” Djokovic said. “I have had it ever since I arrived in Dubai. It started with an infection and then severe allergy.

“It’s gotten worse in the last two days, unfortunately. It’s the first time that I have had such a problem with the eye. It was ultra-sensitive today.”

Djokovic, who held a 14-0 record on the year and led the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 7-0 against Lopez coming into the match, was sad to see his run of success come to an end, but the four-time Dubai champion was more concerned about disappointing his fans.

“I’m really sad to finish the tournament this way. I apologise to all the people who came to watch the match. I apologise to the tournament director and those who came out to support me. I’m really sad to end out the tournament this way, but I was forced to.

“[My match record] is the least of my thoughts in the moment,” said Djokovic, who is still planning on playing Davis Cup and defending his Indian Wells title. “I just hope that this problem will fade away in the next couple of days.”