Melbourne (dpa)
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has expressed his desire to continue playing, as long as his physical condition allows him to do so, as he aims to emulate the Spanish stars Rafael Nadal and Swiss Roger Federer, after going through the challenges of the 2022 season.
Djokovic started his career in the 2022 season amid controversial circumstances, as he was denied participation in the Australian Open, and was deported because of his position on receiving the coronavirus vaccine.
Djokovic, who won 21 titles in the four Grand Slam tournaments, lost the top spot in the ATP world rankings after failing to defend the French Open title (Roland Garros), but he returned to shine through Wimbledon.
Djokovic won the Finals Championship title for the fifth time, equaling Federer’s record, who recently retired, and the 35-year-old Serbian star has shown his determination not to back down in the new season.
“I would like to continue playing as long as I can,” Djokovic said in remarks he made in Dubai yesterday. I don’t have any specific date to stop playing and things are going well for me so far. I cannot complain as long as I am playing at this level and as long as I have the enthusiasm, I will keep moving forward.”
Djokovic was deported from Australia at the beginning of this year due to the issue related to the Corona virus vaccine, but he enjoyed participating in the Australian Championships in previous years.
The Australian Open witnessed Djokovic’s most prominent achievements in the four major “Grand Slam” tournaments, where he was crowned nine times, and he is currently feeling very excited to participate in Australia with the start of the new season.
“I am happy to have the opportunity to open my season there,” Djokovic said. I’ve had a great record in Australia for years, so I’m looking forward to going there.” He added, “I always look forward to achieving the best in my career. I have been lucky for years to make a very strong start every season in Australia. I love playing there.”
He continued, “After what happened earlier this year, I hope that I will have a decent reception there, and that this will help me to make good offers.”