Novak Djokovic has decided to play doubles in Beijing with his friend Stanislas Wawrinka. The world No. 1 rarely plays doubles and has only played one doubles match this season, a loss in Dubai when he partnered his younger brother, Marko. Djokovic and Wawrinka will face the No. 2 seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Robert Lindstedt in the first round.
“I miss [doubles] in a way because I think it brings a lot of positives to my game and also to my confidence because it’s the opportunity to have this kind of a team spirit on the court in a way, because you’re always alone, so when you play doubles, you get to share the court with your partner, and also work on things like serve and return,” Djokovic told reporters. “I look forward to it.”
Djokovic added that he worked with coaching consultant Wojtek Fibak at his home base in Monte Carlo after the U.S. Open. The Serb said they would discuss whether Fibak would continue working with his coaching team after the Asian swing is completed.