“Monte Carlo is probably the next,” Novak Djokovic losing hope of playing in the Sunshine Double this year
Novak Djokovic is still uncertain regarding his entry in the Indian Wells and Miami Open draw due to the US COVID-19 policy.
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World No.1, Novak Djokovic was sent packing by Daniil Medvedev at the Dubai Open semi-final. The Serb shockingly lost to the World No.7 in a stunning turn of events. As a result, Djokovic’s four-month-long winning streak came to an end. The Serb was looking forward to continuing his form after clinching his record-breaking 10th Australian Open title.
Despite losing in the ATP 500, Novak is still hoping to play in the Indian Wells and Miami Open. However, the US Open COVID-19 regulations prohibit the Serb to compete for the ATP 1000 titles. Djokovic is still waiting for the approval of his application to be granted entry into the US. Since a reply is not probable anytime soon, he has already set his sights to compete in the clay season this year.
In the post-match conference in Dubai, Djokovic expressed his feelings surrounding the uncertainty of his participation in the Sunshine Double. World No.1 claimed that he’s still waiting on any news on the approval of his application. Djokovic dejectedly said, “If there’s no America, I guess I’ll play clay. Monte-Carlo is probably the next tournament. If that’s the case, I’ll take some time off, I’ll prepare.”
As per the Serb’s track record, he is not very dominant on clay as compared to his hard-court expertise. Novak stated that preparing for clay will take a long time and hence, he will take some time off to prepare for the upcoming clay season. ” I started off the year in a best possible way…winning Australian Open…That was the priority in this part of the year.” added the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
The Monte Carlo Masters set to begin on April 8, is Novak’s next destination. With regard to his disappointing loss to Medvedev, the Serb said that always tries to play his ‘best tennis’. The five-time Dubai title winner also said that the environment as well as the crowd in Dubai have always appealed to him greatly.
Also read: Rennae Stubbs wants noise around Novak Djokovic’s vaccination status against Covid-19 to stop
Novak Djokovic’s history at the Monte Carlo Masters
The first clay Masters 1000 tournament will be held in Monte Carlo from April 9–16. Novak Djokovic has already confirmed that they would compete for the championship, along with the event director. Rafael Nadal, the clay master, and Djokovic’s ‘biggest rival’ has also affirmed his presence at the maiden clay event of the 2023 season.
Djokovic has won only twice in Monte Carlo. The resident lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina last year, in the second round of the tournament. Novak suffered his quickest Masters 1000 loss since Miami 2018 in 2022. Other players expected to compete include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, and Alexander Zverev among others.
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Tanisha Mohanty
(172 Articles Published)