‘We want to see Novak happy, healthy, and want to see him play!’ ATP Chairman OPTIMISTIC about Novak Djokovic’s return

Given his monumental season last year, Novak Djokovic hasn’t had any sort of luck this year. He is yet to play a match due to the vaccination debacle Down Under. He was initially scheduled to play the ATP Cup and Australian Open but was denied entry into Australia and after a 10-day long tussle was deported from the country.

The Serb is still not vaccinated and could potentially face trouble all season long as tournaments are making vaccination criteria for participation. He could possibly miss the Monte Carlo Masters and even the French Open due to France’s vaccination rules. But before all that, the World No.1 is all set to kick start his season at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Djokovic, who is a 5-time champion in Dubai will be the top seed at the tournament which features the likes of Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz, and Andy Murray. Despite not playing competitive tennis for almost 2 months, Djokovic will still be the favorite to win the title.

‘We want the best players for the best tournaments’: ATP Chief

ATP Chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi has recently spoken about Djokovic’s tricky situation. Speaking to Eurosport, Gaudenzi said that everyone wants Djokovic to see Djokovic play and him playing in Dubai is good news. He then added that he also wants to see him play at Monte Carlo in April as it is one of the biggest tournaments of the year.

“Novak has already planned to play in Dubai, so of course, this is good news,” he is quoted as saying by Eurosport. “We want to see Novak happy and healthy, and we want to see him play. We want the best players for the best tournaments and Monte Carlo is one of them. It’s one of the most important events on the calendar,” he said.

He further spoke about battling COVID and expects a full house at Monte Carlo. “Hopefully, we’ll get a full house. We hope to leave Covid behind us as soon as possible. Honestly, we are hearing good news. We may be seeing the end of the tunnel. We’re moving in the right direction to put this terrible pandemic behind us,” he said.

Also read: “One of the reasons why Novak Djokovic has been so successful is thanks to the Federer fans!” Richard Krajicek claims JEERS from fans motivated the Serb to win