“I will be there this year,” Novak Djokovic confirms he will play in China after 5 long years of absence

Djokovic has tasted a lot of success in China, winning the China Open six times and the Shanghai Masters thrice.

“I will be there this year,” Novak Djokovic confirms he will play in China after 5 long years of absence

Novak Djokovic (Via Imago)

Novak Djokovic was happy to be back on the court at the Wimbledon Championships after undergoing knee surgery recently. The Serbian earned his first win since June by beating Vit Kopriva in straight sets in the first round. After the match, he confirmed that he would play in China this year, ending a five-year hiatus.

Djokovic has tasted a lot of success in China over the years, both at the China Open in Beijing and the Shanghai Masters. From 2010 to 2014, he went on an impressive 28-match winning streak in the country, which saw him win the Beijing title thrice and the Shanghai Masters twice. Roger Federer finally ended that streak in Shanghai in 2014.

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Djokovic has also enjoyed a 29-match win streak at the Beijing Open, winning the title six times in seven years. The last time he played in China was at the Shanghai Masters in 2019, where he made a quarterfinal exit after losing to Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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After his win against Kopriva at SW19, the former World No. 1 stated his intention to return to action in China later this year.

Absolutely, I will be in China this year, I’m looking forward to it. It’s been five years that I haven’t been in China. I really miss my Chinese fans. The best fans in the world that I have are from China and yeah I had some incredible succes in both Beijing and Shanghai. So I can’t wait you know, it’s been way too long without being and playing in China.

Novak Djokovic said at a press conference

China Open is set to get underway on September 23, with the Shanghai Rolex Masters slated to kickstart a week later.

Novak Djokovic excited with first win since undergoing knee surgery

Novak Djokovic admitted that he felt great after beating Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round at Wimbledon. All eyes were on his fitness heading into the match against the Estonian qualifier as he was making a comeback following knee surgery just three weeks ago.

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Novak Djokovic (Image via Imago)

I mean the first match was great considering the last three weeks of rehabilitation and you know obviously the official match is different from practice. I didn’t know how my body or the knee will react to the best of five matches. It was a perfect opening match.

Novak Djokovic said.

Djokovic, who is yet to win a title this season, will face Jacob Fearnley in the second round at Wimbledon. The Scotsman, who went on titles-winning runs at the Nottingham Challenger and the M25 EschAlzett (ITF) this year, registered a confident 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(12) win over Alejandro Moro Canas in the first round.

If the Serbian manages to go all the way at SW19, he will win a record-equalling eighth title, tying Federer. He came close to achieving it last year when he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

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