Dubai: World No.1 Tennis star Novak Djokovic registered victory in his first match of Dubai open Championships 2022 on Monday. He beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-3 to open the Championships.
Djokovic will have a day off before facing either Russian Karen Khachanov or Australian Alex de Minaur. Asked by reporters later how he had been received by his fellow players, he said they had been “very friendly.”
“Majority of them actually welcomed me and said it’s nice to see me back on the tour,” he said. “That makes me feel great. I’m very thankful for that because having the kind of an understanding at least I would say, if not support from my peers and my colleagues, is very important to me because they are the people that I get to see sometimes more than my family.”
The 34-year-old showed no sign of rust or mental baggage from the Australian Open visa saga that rocked the sports world, producing a polished display to ease into the second round, afterwards describing it as a “pleasant experience.
While Djokovic has had no issues being allowed to play in Dubai, he said he currently will not be able to play at Indian Wells, because of strict vaccine laws in the United States.
