Novak Djokovic has won his first tennis match after the farce surrounding his participation in the Australian Open. In Dubai, he defeated Italian Lorenzo Musetti with ease – and has a concrete goal in mind.
Five weeks after losing the Corona court battle in Australia, world number one Novak Djokovic has made a successful return to the tennis tour. In Dubai on Monday, the Serb won his first round match against Italian Lorenzo Musetti in a commanding 6-3, 6-3 victory. Djokovic won his first match this year after 74 minutes and was also cheered by fans with Serbian flags.
Hasn’t played a match since Davis Cup
He really enjoyed it, Djokovic said in the on-court interview, “I couldn’t have asked for a better reception.” He had not played a match since his Davis Cup semi-final exit with the Serbian team in early December. The long break had no effect against the 19-year-old Musetti. One break was enough in the first set. In the second set, Djokovic twice took the serve from his opponent and fended off all seven break points against him.
“All in all, I have to be satisfied with my tennis,” he summed up. The top seed will now face Australian Alex de Minaur or Russian Olympic finalist Karen Khachanov in the last 16, who meet on Tuesday.
For Djokovic, this week is also about first place in the world rankings. If the Russian Daniil Medvedev wins the tournament in Acapulco, Mexico at the same time, he will replace Djokovic as the industry leader in any case. A change at the top of the world rankings is also possible in several other scenarios.
In order to play in Dubai, Djokovic, who has not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, only needs a negative PCR test. The record winner was unable to take part in the Australian Open in January because his medical exemption from the tournament was not sufficient for entry. A federal court had finally rejected his appeal against the expulsion one day before the start of the tournament.
