Novak Djokovic won his first ATP Tour match back, defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-3 in the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship.
After being deported from Australia last month, this was his competitive comeback to the Tour and his first match of the year.
Novak Djokovic was greeted warmly by the supporters in the bleachers, who waved Serbian flags and screamed his name throughout the match. Novak Djokovic showed no symptoms of rustiness on the court, winning 77 percent of games with his first serve and saving all seven breakpoints Musetti produced against him.
Novak Djokovic Defeated His Opponent With Ease
The match was less difficult than his previous encounter with Musetti, which occurred in the fourth round of Roland Garros last year. In the match, which took place in Paris, the Italian was forced to withdraw in the fifth set despite having a two-sets-to-love advantage.
The world number one hit the ball cleanly from the back of the court and intentionally came into the net to finish off quick points after his serve.
Djokovic produced just seven unforced mistakes in the two sets, compared to Musetti’s 13, and the 34-year-old worked effectively behind his second serve as well. In the round of 16, Novak Djokovic will face either Alex de Minaur or Karen Khachanov. In his post-victory news conference, Djokovic confessed that, as things stand, he would be unable to compete in next month’s prestigious Indian Wells Masters. He cannot enter the US unless he gets vaccinated. Djokovic hopes that the regulations change in the coming weeks. In his news conference following his victory over Christopher O’Connell, previous world champion Andy Murray was asked about Djokovic’s condition.
Murray maintains that getting Djokovic immunized is the simplest solution. He repeated his dissatisfaction with Djokovic’s choice.
