Dubai (AFP)
Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic started his return to the stadiums strongly, by deciding his first match since his deportation from Melbourne for refusing to be vaccinated against the Corona virus, and thus preventing him from defending his title in the Australian Open, without any trouble at the expense of the young Italian Lorenzo Mussetti 6-3 And 6-3 Monday in the first round of the Dubai session.
Unlike their confrontation in June during the last eight of the Roland Garros championship, when the 19-year-old Italian won the first two sets, and forced his opponent to make a tremendous effort to return from afar on his way to winning the title for the second time, this time Djokovic did not find it difficult to settle the meeting and qualify for the round The second, where he will meet the winner of the match of the Russian Karen Khachanov and the Russian Alex de Minor.
Djokovic started the match strongly and advanced 3-1 after seizing the fourth game on his opponent’s serve, which paved the way to resolve the first set without any resistance. Then he repeated the matter at the beginning of the second when he snatched the third game on the Italian’s serve to advance 2-1, then was close to losing The sixth game three times to serve, but he saved the situation and advanced 4-2 on his way to finalizing the match in an hour and 14 minutes.
The Serbian was happy to return to the stadiums in a tournament that he won the title 5 times previously, in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2020, saying: I could not have received a better reception than that. It’s been a while since I played my last game and I couldn’t have picked a better place to start my season.
Djokovic was playing his first match since December 3, when he lost in Madrid with his country against Croatia in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup, because he was denied participation in the Australian Championship due to the issue of his refusal to receive the anti-Coronavirus vaccine, which opened the door for Spaniard Rafael Nadal to single out the number. The record number of major titles (21).
In order to justify his coming to Australia without receiving the vaccine, the 34-year-old Serbian asked to be exempted from the vaccine, as he was infected with the Corona virus a few weeks ago, but this matter sparked great controversy and a legal battle in Australia ended with his being denied participation in the championship.
He returned to Serbia, where he rested with his family, and then this week broke his silence in an interview with the British network “BBC” and then Serbian television.
The player, who does not want to associate himself with the anti-vaccine movements, made it clear that he is not “against the vaccine”, but wishes to continue “watching what is being injected” into his body.
He added that he was “ready to pay the price” for his convictions, even if it cost him to participate in the remaining three major tournaments this season at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows.
The Serbian was “satisfied” with the performance that he presented on Monday, especially since he had not played for nearly three months, thanking everyone for his support and welcoming him on the field in this way, in reference to the crowd chanting his name “Noli, Noli, Noli.”
In his press conference, he revealed that he “tried not to watch” the Australian Championship final between Nadal and Medvedev, “but almost everyone in the house was watching it… I found myself obliged to follow it.” But congratulations to Rafa. Amazing performance from a fighter like him. I respect him very much and do not want to diminish the importance of his victory by saying that I was not involved.
He continued, “It did not feel good to leave the country in this way, and to follow the championship from afar, admitting that his reputation was damaged by the controversy in Melbourne, and that he consulted specialists to better understand the “different dynamics” associated with his situation, which has been exacerbated beyond the sport And he got into politics, he said.
He explained: Regarding my picture, I really don’t know. Of course, there haven’t been many positive articles about this whole situation over the past month. I think things might change a little bit, I hope. But I realize there is still a lot of speculation and people wondering.
The Dubai tournament will be very important for Djokovic in his struggle to retain the top spot in the ATP rankings, in light of fierce competition from Russian Daniil Medvedev, who is participating in Acapulco.
But Medvedev faces a fierce battle 15 thousand kilometers away, with the participation of Nadal and the Greek stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and German Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic is participating in the Dubai tournament because vaccination against Corona is not mandatory to enter the Emirates.
After Dubai, his name appeared on the list of participants in the Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells (March 7-20) in the California desert and then Miami between March 21 and April 3. But he cannot enter the US without a vaccine.
Among the most prominent participants in the Dubai (500) tournament, the Russian Andrey Rublev, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassim, Italian Yannick Sener, the defending champion last year, the Russian Aslan Karatsev, and the veteran British Andy Murray, the 2017 champion, who reached the second round with a hard victory over Australian Christopher O’Connell 6- 7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-5, and the Croatian Marin Cilic, who ended his career early by losing to Czech Jiri Veseli 4-6, 6-7 (3-7).
Tunisian Malek Jaziri exited the first round, losing to Serbian Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4, and Belgium’s David Govan, losing to Japan’s Taro Daniel 3-6, 6-7 (5-7).