After a late start, Novak Djokovic is set to begin his 2022 season at the ATP 500 Dubai Open, eyeing his 6th title. After failing to defend his Australian Open title due to his deportation, the Serbian has been taking an extra mile to train himself for an exceptional start to the season.

Recently, Djokovic opened up about how has he prepared for his season starting play at the ATP 500 Dubai Open. He also spoke about how was it coming back from Australia after his much talked about vaccination saga.

Djokovic’s preparation for Dubai

Djokovic is in Dubai to compete at the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Novak is the top-seeded player in the outdoor hardcourt event, scheduled to start from today, 21st February. 

Recently, in Dubai, Djokovic spoke about how he feels to be playing at Dubai after an unpleasant start to the year. He said, “Knowing I was coming to Dubai, I had something to work for, I had a goal. So now that I’m here I could say that I am as well-prepared as I possibly can be and I’m excited to, again, be on the tour. That’s all I’m feeling at the moment.”

The Serbian also spoke about the time he came back from Australia. He opened up on how the whole situation affected him emotionally as well as mentally. “Of course there were lots of emotions after I came back from Australia, so I needed a bit of time to reflect and to just mentally rest and then once I was refreshed I was looking forward to play tennis and compete.”

Previous performances of Novak Djokovic in Dubai

Dubai has been one of the most successful tournaments in Novak Djokovic’s career. It is one of the 9 tour-level tournaments he has won five or more times.

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He first won the ATP 500 Dubai Open in 2009, beating Spaniard David Ferrer in the finals. The impressive title win of Djokovic did not end there. The Serbian successfully defended his title in 2010, by beating the 7th seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Showing the champion attitude of never being satisfied, Djokovic re-defended his title in 2011, this time beating the Swiss Maestro Roger Federer. 

In 2012, he faced a semi-final loss to Andy Murray. After making a comeback in 2013, he again won the title, beating the 3rd seeded Tomas Berdych. After having a long gap of 7 years, Novak again won the title in 2020. 

This year, Djokovic is eyeing his 6th title at the ATP 500 Dubai Open. Entering the tournament as the top seed, Djokovic will face Italian Wildcard entrant Lorenzo Musetti in the opening round of the tournament. 

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