Novak Djokovic to face Lorenzo Musetti in his first match of the 2022 season

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The World No. 1 was prohibited from playing at the Australian Open after he refused to get vaccinated

Novak Djokovic will be taking on Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the Round of 32 at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships will be held from February 21-26. This is the 30th edition of this ATP 500 event and will be the first one that Djokovic will be playing this year. He has won the championship 5 times before and is seeded No.1 in the tournament.

Novak Djokovic reacts after beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open 2021 (Credits: Roland Garros Twitter)
Novak Djokovic reacts after beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open 2021 (Credits: Roland Garros Twitter)

Djokovic is expected to face stiff competition from World No. 7 Andrey Rublev, Australian Open Quarter-finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime and World No. 10 Jannik Sinner.

Novak Djokovic and the Australian Open Fiasco

The Serbian tennis star, Djokovic has been recently involved in a lot of controversy. He was deported from Australia after the Australian immigration minister cancelled the athlete’s visa because he was unvaccinated. This meant that Djokovic couldn’t take part in the prestigious opening Grand Slam of the year. There is speculation that he might not be allowed to take part in the Roland Garos either as per the country’s Covid-19 protocols if he doesn’t get vaccinated.


Djokovic has been out of competitive tennis for quite sometime and the draw isn’t quite smooth in his first tournament of the year. The first two rounds appear to be comparatively easy but the real test begins from the quarter-finals. Djokovic is expected to face opponents like Felix, Shapovalov, Rublev and Sinner all of whom are much younger in age and have been quite consistent in recent tournaments.
The World No. 1 though is in a league of his own and his fans can expect a grand comeback.

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