There was some questions about if Novak Djokovic’s shoulder would be able to recover enough to allow him to play in Paris. There were even more questions wondering if the Serbian star would put in a serve, or maybe even risk further damage to his shoulder for $1.6 million. Novak has already won $10 million in prize money this year but stood to receive the hefty bonus-pool payout if he showed up in Paris.
As Djokovic was having an injury time out during the recent Shanghai Masters $400,000 was deducted from the initial $2 million offer.
All Novak needed to do to receive the enormous cheque was to serve one ball. He served one ball and carried on to defeat Ivan Dodig 6-4, 6-3 with a seemingly improved shoulder. The Serbian world number one did not face a break point and won 90% of his first serves – a vast improvement from last week in Basel where he had to alter his service motion against Nishikori.
“I took the necessary measures in the last couple of days in order to recover and play in this tournament. I’m feeling good on the court and that’s what matters.
It’s obvious that I’m still not on top of my game. But I’m taking things quite slowly, step by step, knowing that the form will improve each day that I play.”
