Novak Djokovic He started the season very well, winning the Adelaide ATP 250 and especially the Australian Open. The Serbian phenom proved to be still the strongest, besting the competition and dropping just one set on the road at Melbourne Park.
In addition to having hooked his eternal rival Rafael Nadal in 22 Grand Slams, the 35-year-old from Belgrade returned to the top of the ATP ranking by unseating Carlos Alcaraz from the throne. Given Rafa’s precarious conditions, many believe that Nole can once again aspire to the ‘Calendar Grand Slam’ (a titanic feat already close to 2021).
The ‘Djoker’ will return to the courts in Dubai at the end of February, while his presence in Indian Wells and Miami is still uncertain. Goran Ivanisevic’s protégé would like to enter the United States with special permission and will receive a definitive answer in the coming days.
We remember that last year Novak had to miss the US Open and all the American Masters 1000 due to his vaccination status. During a meeting with the Dutch media, ATP Rotterdam director Richard Krajicek admitted that he hoped to persuade Djokovic to participate in the 50th edition of the tournament.
Krajicek opens up about Djokovic
As the tournament turns 50, its director spoke of the hope he had of being able to receive the number 1 in the world. In fact, this hope exists almost every year as he explained to the Dutch media.
“In fact, we have an open invitation for Novak Djokovic every year. We thought: if he is not allowed to enter Australia again, we will definitely talk to him. But when we found out that he would be allowed to participate in the Australian Open, we already knew that he would not be coming to Rotterdam.» Speaking on The Big Deal – Australian Sports Business Podcast, Cahill praised Djokovic’s ability to find weaknesses in his opponent’s game.
«I’ve actually heard Andrea Petkovic describe Novak as being like water because you can get it but you can’t really hold on to it,» Cahill said. «And I think that’s a really good way to describe Novak because he finds a way to go through every crack and every crevice to break the opponent’s game and find weaknesses.
And his movement and his professionalism is second to none. I mentioned Federer before pioneering what he was able to do 15 years ago over a long period of time. but these guys [Nadal and Djokovic] they have taken it to a whole new level, especially Novak.
I’ve never seen anyone take care of their body and be more professional than Novak, with everything he does to get his body back to where it is.»
