WATCH: Novak Djokovic hits Dubai practice courts as he gears up for his much anticipated return
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Novak Djokovic
After starting his year on a dreadful note, Novak Djokovic is finally set for some on-court action is gearing up for his return at the upcoming Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. The Serb was seen at the practice courts, as he prepares to play his first match of the year.
A fan took to Twitter to posted a video of Djokovic at the practice courts at the Mouratoglou Tennis center and captioned it “Novak practicing in Dubai today. Idemo Nole.” Despite the controversies that the World No.1 was embroiled in recently, many fans were seen beside the court to watch Djokovic in action.
The 20-time-Grand Slam champion last played a match in the Davis Cup tie against Croatia in December. He couldn’t compete in the Australian hard court season because of his vaccination status. Djokovic was initially allowed to enter Australia on the basis of ‘medical exemption’ but was detained on his arrival. But was later temporarily allowed after the court revoked the decision and there was a brief moment where it looked he would be allowed to defend his title at the Australian Open. The Serb’s stay was short-lived as he was later deported after the Immigration minister decided to exercise his personal powers to revoke his visa.
In spite of undergoing such a fiasco, Djokovic has maintained his stern stance on vaccination and even revealed that he is ready to miss tournaments as a consequence. He has no such requirements to play in Dubai as unvaccinated players are allowed to compete, provided they give a negative PCR test. There might be a lot of uncertainty over whether the 34-year-old will be able to compete in major tournaments. But for now, his fans are relishing the fact that Djokovic is finally making a return to tour and are eagerly awaiting his much-anticipated comeback.
Novak Djokovic is the top seed at Dubai Tennis Championships
Djokovic will be headlining the tournament along with Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger Aliassime, and Jannik Sinner, which begins on February 21st. He will feature as the top seed and his popularity was eminent as his first-round match has been reportedly sold out.
Djokovic is a five-time winner at the tournament, with his most recent win coming in 2020. He chose not to participate in the tournament last year. The Serbian recently completed a staggering 360 weeks as the World No.1, but his ranking is at stake in Dubai as even a win might not guarantee his place, with Daniil Medvedev lurking behind in a close second place.
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T Rushitha
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