DUBAI: Novak Djokovic's Kelly green gear blended perfectly with the picturesque setting of the Irish Village, home to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis championships, an ATP 500 Series tournament.
With the near capacity crowd chanting 'Novak, Novak, Novak' and a section of the stands waving Serbian flags, the world No. 1 waded into the contest, breaking Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti early in the match. It was like he had never been away.
Djokovic came through the 75-minute encounter for the loss of six games, three in each set. The Serbian, who was deported from Melbourne on the eve of the Australian Open, is playing his first competitive match since December.
"I was excited and nervous like before any other match after a long break. I was really looking forward to step out on the court. To get that kind of reception from the crowd, I thank them from my heart," the 34-year-old said. "I didn't know how it was going to unfold for me."
Djokovic said the suspicion he was viewed with by the players at Melbourne Park had hurt him. "I had a few conversations," Djokovic said of the atmosphere in the locker rooms in Dubai. "Most of the players were very friendly. Some asked me how it felt, how I feel right now. Majority of them welcomed me and said it's nice to see me back on the tour.
"I'm very thankful for that, having that kind of an understanding, if not support from my peers and colleagues is very important to me. They are the people I get to see more than my family sometimes. I care greatly about the relationships that we have."
After his refusal to get vaccinated for Covid-19 the Serbian superstar, a 20-time major winner, has been cast as an anti-vaxxer. Djokovic has turned to public relations consultants to manage a shift.
"I have many PR consultants around the world, trying to manage this situation as best as possible," he said. "There were not many positive articles about this whole situation. But since my interview with BBC, I think things are maybe shifting a little bit. I'm hoping. But I understand there's still a lot of speculation and people are questioning that. I said what I needed to say. I'm open to answer any question. Hopefully things will shift in a positive way for me."
Former world No. 1 Andy Murray and Djokovic exchanged text messages in Australia in January. "I don't agree with his decision. I think it would be a lot easier for him if he was to get vaccinated," Murray said. "There are consequences to the decisions he has made. He obviously has to accept that, but I don't think it's great for tennis if our best player is not competing in major events."
Djokovic, who doesn't know where he will play next, added that it was unlikely that he'd be in Indian Wells in March.
