Novak Djokovic is confident that he is in the right physical shape heading into his first tournament of the season at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The world No.1 has been sidelined from the Tour in recent weeks after getting deported from Australia following an argument over the validity of his visa. Djokovic entered the country under the impression that he will be allowed to play at the Australian Open because he recently contracted COVID-19 and was given a medical exemption. However, border officials said that only vaccinated individuals are allowed into the country. Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, went through two court hearings within a week before leaving the country.
A lack of match play and the controversy surrounding his stance on the vaccine has raised questions over his current form heading into Dubai. Djokovic’s last competitive match was three months ago at the Davis Cup finals.
However, the 20-time grand slam champion was high in confidence whilst speaking to reporters in Dubai on Sunday and even said he felt that he was at his ‘peak.’
“It wasn’t really difficult for me to pick up a racket and go out and practice the sport and just play,” The Associated Press quoted Djokovic as saying. “I’m as well prepared as I possibly can be.”
Djokovic is a five-time champion in Dubai which makes him the second most decorated player in the tournament’s history after Roger Federer who has claimed the title on eight occasions. This year is the 30th edition of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
“Having previous positive experiences on the court and titles obviously connects me to this place even more. We’ll play this tournament and see how it goes further down the line.”
The 34-year-old admits that his schedule for the foreseeable future is in the air due to his stance on not wanting to be vaccinated against COVID-19. During a recent interview with the BBC he said he had reservations over what impact it could have on his body even though it has been approved by the World Health Organization. Djokovic is the only player in the top 100 of the men’s Tour who hasn’t been jabbed, according to the ATP.
Dubai allows unvaccinated individuals to enter their country but others have their own policy on the matter. The most notable being America which will hold two Masters 1000 events next month. Despite facing the prospect of missing those events, the tennis star says that he is willing to make the sacrifice.
“Whatever tournament I’ll be able to play I’ll be trying to get to that country and play that tournament,” he said. “I really can’t choose. It’s really about where I can go and play.”
The battle to stay at the top
This week could see a change of the guard in the world rankings should Djokovic suffer an early loss. Due to missing Australia, he finds himself narrowly ahead of Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the standings. Medvedev could have dethroned him from the top last month if he had beaten Nadal in the Australian Open final.
There is a total of six scenarios where Djokovic could lose his No.1 position this week, which he has held since February 2020. The easiest way for Medvedev to seal the top spot would be for him to win the Acapulco Open in Mexico which takes place during the same time as Dubai. If he does this, he will get enough points that Djokovic will not be able to overtake him no matter how he performs. Otherwise, he will be relying on the result of his Serbian opponent.
“I know that he’s very close and it depends what I do here,” said Djokovic.
“I’m not aware of all the different scenarios but the only scenario I have in my head is to win every match that I play here.”
When informed about some of the conditions which could result in him being overtaken by the US Open champion, Djokovic paid tribute to his rival.
“It’s in his hands but he deserves to be No 1,” he said.
“Eventually it’s going to happen and if it happens this week I’ll be the first one to congratulate him.”
Djokovic will play Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the first round on Monday evening.
