The two-time champion said he is ready to compete for his 100th career title in his first time in Doha since 2019.

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic hinted at regaining full fitness to compete in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2025, a tournament he said “deserves to be a 1000-pointer” ahead of his singles opener on Tuesday.

“I haven’t felt any pain, so I’ve been feeling great training the last 10 days, and last three days here in Doha,” Djokovic said, answering Doha News’ question in a press conference. The former world number one had just come off a commanding 6-1, 6-1 win against Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov with his recently formed pair Fernando Verdasco.

“Today’s doubles match, obviously, was different from singles. But it’s still a match, and you do have to do very dynamic movements on the court, where you kind of test your body and how it feels. It felt great, so I have no concern,” he added.

Djokovic’s participation in the tournament was in doubt following his injury during the Australian Open semi-finals. It was only last week that the Serbian ace confirmed his involvement in Doha.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion will start his single’s action on Wednesday, against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini — his first campaign in Doha since 2019. The Qatar Open was an ATP 250 event back then and was upgraded to a 500-pointer starting this year.

The tournament this time around feels rather like a 1000-pointer, according to Djokovic, as he hailed the city’s tennis culture.

“I’m so happy that, deservedly, they got the 500 category. Hopefully, they’re going to move into the 1000 category as well very soon, because they deserve it.

This tournament has a 30-year tradition, and there’s a nice culture of tennis in this country. If you see the field, the tournament is more of a 1000 category rather than 500. That’s what I guess attracts more interest,” he added.

Djokovic is aiming to win his third title in Doha, having won in 2015 and then a successful defence in 2016. A successful campaign this time around will also make him just the third player ever to clinch 100 career titles, after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.

Djokovic calls for transparency in anti-doping

Djokovic also commented on the issue of reigning world number one Jannik Sinner, who was handed a three-month suspension on the eve of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2025 after failing two anti-doping tests.

“The two cases of Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner have attracted a lot of attention, and it’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure,” the 37-year-old said.

“A majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, are not happy with the way this whole process has been handled.”

The Professional Tennis Players Association, which Djokovic co-founded alongside fellow tennis ace Vasek Pospisil in 2019, had called out the authorities for “transparency, process, and credibility” just a day earlier.

“It is inconsistent and it appears to be very unfair, and that’s all I have to say about it,” Djokovic said on Monday, echoing the same stance of the organisation that represents 1400 tennis players.

“It is the right time for us to really address the system because this system and structure obviously does not work for anti-doping. It is obvious.

“I hope that in the next period of the near future, the governing bodies of our tours and the tennis ecosystem are going to come together and try to find a more effective way to deal with these processes.”