MONTE CARLO
\nNovak Djokovic on Sunday admitted that his absence from tournaments due to his continued and controversial refusal to get vaccinated \u201chas been difficult, mentally and emotionally\u201d but he is \u201cmoving on\u201d.
\nThe world number one\u2019s only appearance in 2022 was in Dubai in February where he played just three matches.
\nHaving been deported from Melbourne, and missing out on a possible 10th Australian Open, his single-minded Covid-19 stance then also saw him declared persona non-grata at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters.
\n\u201cI hope I won\u2019t play six matches in six months! The past three to four months have been really difficult for me, mentally and emotionally.
\n\u201cBut here I am. I\u2019ll leave all that behind and move on,\u201d said Djokovic ahead of the Monte Carlo Masters, the prestigious European clay-court season opener which started Sunday.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think it will leave insurmountable traces, far from it. I\u2019ll try to use it as fuel.\u201d
\nIn Djokovic\u2019s absence from the tour, long-time rival Rafael Nadal clinched the Australian Open for a 21st Grand Slam title, breaking a tie with the Serb and Roger Federer.
\nHe also briefly lost his world number one ranking to Daniil Medvedev although he is now back on top of the pile where he has been for 364 weeks so far in his career.
\n\u201cI understand that I probably won\u2019t be at my best at the beginning of this week,\u201d added Djokovic.
\n\u201cI am still testing my engine, so to speak, and building my game, so it will take obviously some time, some matches to really get in the groove and find the competitive play that I really need.\u201d Despite his off-court dramas, Djokovic insisted he is still keen to add to his Grand Slam collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MONTE CARLO Novak Djokovic on Sunday admitted that his absence from tournaments due to his continued and controversial refusal to get vaccinated \u201chas been difficult, mentally and emotionally\u201d but he is \u201cmoving on\u201d. The world number one\u2019s only appearance in 2022 was in Dubai in February where he played just three matches. Having been deported […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-254482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n