Veteran proving his resilience again but faces test against Jakub Mensik if he is to become third man to win 100 titles
Novak Djokovic departed Indian Wells two weeks ago with serious concerns. Aside from his one encouraging result this year, a supreme performance in his Australian Open quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz, the first few months of his 38th year had been grim. Father time had undeniably gained ground on him.
The hamstring injury Djokovic suffered against Alcaraz eventually forced him to withdraw from his subsequent semi-final against Alexander Zverev after only one set. After tearing his medial collateral ligament at the French Open last year, this setback marked his second grand slam withdrawal inside a year after two decades of good health.