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Novak Djokovic started the season very well by winning the ATP 250 in Adelaide and above all the Australian Open. The Serbian phenomenon proved to be still the strongest around, beating the competition and leaving only one set on the road at Melbourne Park.
In addition to having hooked his eternal rival Rafael Nadal at 22 Grand Slams, the 35-year-old from Belgrade returned to the top of the ATP ranking by ousting 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 in 2021).
The 'Djoker' will return to the field 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 a special permit and will receive a definitive answer in the next few days.
We recall 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 Dutch media, Rotterdam's ATP director Richard Krajicek admitted that he hoped to persuade Djokovic to participate in the 50th edition of the tournament.
Krajicek opens up on Djokovic
As the tournament celebrates 50 years, its director spoke of the hope he had of being able to welcome the world number 1. In fact, this hope exists almost every year as he explained to the Dutch media.
“We actually have an open invitation for Novak Djokovic every year. We thought: if he is not allowed to re-enter Australia, we will definitely talk to him. But when we learned that he would be allowed to participate in the Australian Open, we already knew that he would not come to Rotterdam." Speaking on The Big Deal - Australian Sports Business Podcast, Cahill spoke highly of Djokovic's ability to find weaknesses in his opponent's game.
"I actually heard Andrea Petkovic describe Novak as being like water because you can sort of get it but you can't really hold on to it," Cahill said. "And I reckon that's a really good way of describing Novak because he finds a way to get through every crack and every crevice to break down the opponent's game and find weaknesses.
And his movement and his professionalism is second to none. I mentioned Federer before being the trailblazer for what he was able to do 15 years ago for a long period of time. But these guys [Nadal and Djokovic] have taken it to a whole new level, especially Novak.
I've never seen anybody look after their body and be more professional than Novak, with the lengths he goes to get his body into the place it is," he added.
