‘I think Novak Djokovic’s going to have some fire in his…’, says analyst

Waiting for his debut at the 1000 in Monte Carlo against Spaniard Davidovich Fokina, Serbian champion Novak Djokovic met with two Paris Saint-Germain stars. In a video posted on his official Twitter account, the twenty-time slam winner juggles with Marco Verratti and Neymar. A funny video that also shows the skill of the Belgrade tennis player in football managing to imitate the deeds of the two players in the game of two-touch dribble. Djokovic, who in this early 2022 has played a few games due to his unvaccinated status, will play his first 1000 of the season trying to raise the Rolex Monte Carlos Masters for the third time in his career. In fact, in his career he has already managed to triumph on two occasions: in 2013 against the ten-time winner Rafael Nadal and in 2015 against Tomas Berdych.

Nole is looking to start his clay campaign

Pam Shriver believes Novak Djokovic will have “fire in his belly” on his return to action at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters. The former doubles World No. 1 feels the Serb will be motivated to match rival Rafael Nadal’s 21 Grand Slam titles sooner rather than later. “I expect him to be anywhere from really rusty, and if he has the wrong draw to lose early, to win the tournament,” Shriver said. “So, in other words, I don’t quite know what to expect. There’s nobody that I know – I guess maybe Ash Barty would be the closest one, Serena in her prime, Roger occasionally – and I guess Novak can fit that profile right? Players who can take such a long period of time off and then get right back at it and win. So it’s possible,” Shriver continued. “It might take him a couple of tournaments. But I think he’s going to have some fire in his belly and he’s going to try and match Nadal at 21 [Grand Slams] sooner than later.” Novak Djokovic has been at the center stage of all drama in the tennis world since the Australian Open 2022. The Serb had to go through a lengthy visa battle and eventually, he could not defend his title at the tournament. Because of USA’s vaccine mandate, Djokovic also could not participate in any of the tournaments in the US hard court swing. While he did play at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he lost to Jiri Vesely, in the quarterfinals, after a performance that lacked his usual spark.