NOVAK BACK IN BUSINESS
Djokovic delighted with reception in desert
NOVAK DJOKOVIC enjoyed the support of a fervent Dubai crowd as he made an impressive winning return to tennis – and then said he hopes the rules will change to allow him to play in the USA.
The world No.1 has courted controversy by refusing to get jabbed and he was deported from Australia for inciting anti-vaccination sentiment last month. His reception at events in Europe and the USA might also be hostile.
But Djokovic was last night given a warm welcome in the desert for his first match of the season – and responded by beating Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-3.
“I couldn’t ask for a better reception,” said the Serb. “It has been a while since I played. I couldn’t pick a better place to kick-start the season – it was the best possible experience tonight and thank you for your support and welcoming me on the court the way that you did.”
Djokovic cannot play in the Masters events in Indian Wells or Miami next month – or the US Open in August – because he would need to be vaccinated to enter the USA.
“As of today, I can’t go, can’t enter the US,” he added. “But let’s see what happens. I mean, maybe things change in the next few weeks.”
Djokovic had not played competitively since the Davis Cup at the start of December. Since then, Rafa Nadal has set a new record for male Grand Slam singles titles in Melbourne and Daniil Medvedev can replace him at the top of the rankings by taking the title in Acapulco this week.
But Djokovic, who is allowed to compete in Dubai without a vaccine, showed he is still the player to beat with a clinical display last night. He had to wait even longer for his return when Andy Murray’s preceding match went to three sets. But the five-time Dubai champion needed only 74 minutes to win.
Murray claimed his 699th ATP Tour victory with a trademark fightback. The Scot lost a first-set tiebreak to Australian world No.158 Chris O’Connell before winning 6-7 6-3 7-5 in two hours 51 minutes.
The world No.89 said: “I enjoyed the result. What went on in the middle was not easy. I was frustrated early on – I couldn’t quite find my game. He was dictating a lot of the rallies. I managed to serve a little bit better as the match went on, which helped me a lot. Just managed to tough it out in the end.
“I still feel I can compete at the highest level. It’s not easy. Physically it’s challenging, but winning matches like that is very satisfying.”