![\"Novak](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/djokovic-indian-wells-2026-r3-reaction.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Match Reaction
\n Djokovic on forearm injury: \u2018Hopefully it\u2019s going to get better every day\u2019<\/p>\n
38-year-old Serbian opens up about injury and previews Draper clash<\/p>\n
March 09, 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Clive Brunskill\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Novak Djokovic is making his 17th appearance at the BNP Paribas Open.
\n By Jerome Coombe<\/p>\n
Novak Djokovic<\/a> admitted that he is managing an \u201codd\u201d right forearm problem after grinding his way into the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open<\/a> in Indian Wells for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n The five-time champion has needed three sets in both of his opening matches at the ATP Masters 1000 event and has been wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm while navigating the early rounds. Despite the physical concern, the 38-year-old Serbian has continued to find solutions on court, most recently battling past Aleksandar Kovacevic<\/a> 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been struggling the last couple of weeks with that forearm and trying to go through it,\u201d Djokovic told Tennis Channel after his third-round win. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit odd: The more I serve, the better I feel, but then it comes on and off if I get cold.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I don\u2019t serve for five or six minutes then I feel like the first couple of serves of that game are a bit painful. I\u2019m working through it. It\u2019s not something I haven\u2019t faced before. It\u2019s the ins and outs of being a tennis player at this level, but overall the body is feeling okay. Hopefully it\u2019s going to get better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Next up for Djokovic is defending champion Jack Draper<\/a> in the fourth round, a meeting that promises to test the veteran\u2019s resilience further. Djokovic won their only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head match at Wimbledon<\/a> in 2021, though Draper has developed rapidly in the years since.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to manage my body and my mental state on a daily basis so that I can be peaking as much as I possibly can on a given day,\u201d said Djokovic, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. \u201cThen, of course, there is a challenge and obstacle across the net. It\u2019s not going to get easier from here\u2026 Jack Draper<\/a> is next, who is the defending champ and playing at a really high level again, but I love the challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is one of the biggest reasons why I am still here and competing with these young guys. I want to see how they beat me \u2014 if they can \u2014 and that drives me every day to get better and prove to myself and others that I can still play at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n In Indian Wells, Djokovic is competing in just his second tour-level event of 2026 after he opened the year by reaching the final of the Australian Open<\/a>, where he fell to world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>. Draper, meanwhile, has also been building momentum after an injury, which kept him out for five months.<\/p>\n \u201cNovak is the ultimate challenge,\u201d said Draper, who is competing in his third tour-level event of the season. \u201cFor me, he\u2019s the greatest player of all time. I have ultimate respect for him, what he\u2019s done for the game and what he\u2019s still doing. I\u2019m really looking forward to that match. It\u2019s what I put all the work in for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Match Reaction Djokovic on forearm injury: \u2018Hopefully it\u2019s going to get better every day\u2019 38-year-old Serbian opens up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-542758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}