Novak Djokovic is set to return to tennis later today, playing his first match in nearly two months.
The ATP Tour has certainly been worse off without his legendary presence, with the 38-year-old playing just his third event of the season here in Rome.
Whilst he has made a conscious effort to reduce his schedule in recent years, his latest lay-off was enforced, having suffered an injury that has persisted for some time now.
And, speaking to Tennis TV, Novak Djokovic has finally offered an update after so long out of the limelight.
Novak Djokovic issues fitness update ahead of Italian Open
The interviewer began by requesting a fitness update, which Djokovic begrudgingly gave. He cut a rather frustrated figure whilst answering this question, with his initial assessment hardly enthusiastic: “Well, I’m ready enough to compete.”
He continued: “I’m not really the happiest with, you know, the level of tennis or where I am with my movement or the physical, I guess, state, but it’s getting there. It’s getting there.
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“I wanted to be back on the tour earlier, but I couldn’t. I was injured, and so I had to deal with it progressively, and I’m here in Rome, where I always love coming back and I’ve had a great success, so I’m excited, you know, excited to be back in competition.”
Alas, his mood swiftly picked up when asked to discuss the Italian Open and Rome, where he is a six-time champion.
Djokovic waxed lyrical about the event, stating: “It’s called the tennis Colosseum, right? For a reason.
“Amazing crowd, honestly, the amount of people that come and watch the tournament, the venue is so historic, beautiful, just epic to be a part of the tournament in every sense.
“And considering the Italian success in both men’s and women’s tennis in the last several years, the popularity has grown, and you can feel that, you know, there’s great energy around the stands and the courts.
“So, yeah, very obviously familiar with the tournament and the venue and with people who are working, have been working here for decades, you know, from the Italian Federation that I’ve known, they’ve been nice to me, you know, since I was very young and coming for the first time in Rome, that was, I guess, I don’t know, 20, maybe more than 20 years ago.
“So I really look forward to always coming back, as I said, because it’s one of the nicest cities, [I’ve always] got a great support. Speak a little bit of Italian, which helps connect with people better, so, yeah, just happy to be here.”
Djokovic played a practice set against Arthur Fils earlier this week, and the result will not have helped boost his confidence ahead of his return to action. He faces Dino Prizmic in the first round.
Novak Djokovic puts support behind Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner’s boycott claim
Whilst Djokovic’s return will be celebrated, all tennis news has seemingly been overshadowed by recent talks of a boycott of the Grand Slams.
In an effort to pry a greater share of the revenue from these four biggest events, Aryna Sabalenka has threatened a boycott, with stars like Coco Gauff and Jannik Sinner echoing that sentiment too.
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Djokovic was also asked about this in his press conference, and whilst he admitted that he is no longer leading the revolution, he did throw his support behind the cause too.
He claimed: “The players know they will always have my support, and that’s all that matters. The new generations are coming, and I’m happy to see that leaders of our sport, like Aryna Sabalenka, are ready to step forward and truly understand how tennis politics works, to grasp the nuances and what really needs to be done, not only for their own interest and well-being but for everyone.”
