Novak Djokovic’s season was certainly affected by his decision not to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus, forcing him to miss two Slams (Australian Open and US Open) and all the North American Masters 1000 (Indian Wells, Miami, Montreal and Cincinnati).
In addition to suffering serious image damage, the Serbian phenom was slow to regain his composure on the pitch. After the disappointment suffered at Roland Garros, the 35-year-old from Belgrade triumphed at Wimbledon for the fourth time in a row.
Nole thus equaled his idol Pete Sampras in seven victories in London, placing himself just one trophy behind Rafael Nadal in the classification of all Grand Slams. The Balkan improved his year by winning the ATP Finals for the sixth time and pocketing almost 5 million dollars.
Shortly before the end of the season, the news broke that Djokovic will be able to play the 2023 Australian Open. Goran Ivanisevic’s protégé will seek his tenth title at Melbourne Park, to definitively leave this year’s ugly soap opera behind.
The Serbian media are wondering if Djokovic will help his national team in the Davis Cup. Serbia will play Norway shortly after the Australian Open ends. The captain of Serbia, Viktor Troicki, made some interesting statements about it: “We have one of the worst rivals in history.
The presence of Casper Ruud makes the trip to Norway very difficult, but the other Norwegian players are not so competitive. A lot will depend on us and the lineup that we can present in February. We have Novak Djokovic, although the timing of the tie with Norway is not the best due to the proximity of the Australian Open.”
Djokovic is still hungry to win
Novak Djokovic clinched a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title on Sunday, beating Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3 in the summit clash. “He’s practicing even harder than when he was 22. That’s why he’s still so good and that’s why he’s still going to be even better.
The will to practice, the will to improve, the will to be better is amazing. He’s taking care of his body. In my time we stop tennis with 30, 31. You were already old guy ready to leave,” he said. “Few of them, you have youngest No.
1 in the world who made unbelievable things this year, Carlos. But look at Novak. He’s still hungry, he’s still winning the tournament, playing unbelievable tennis. He’s still already thinking now about preparation for next season,” he expressed.
