Novak Djokovic will return to the tennis courts in February. He will do so at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, whose main draw will be played from 21 to 26 at the Aviation Club Tennis Center in the emirate. The Serbian is already among the list of entries for the event and, unless something prevents his participation from here next month, he will be the first male seed.
The entry requirements for the United Arab Emirates, which according to government data has 93.64% of citizens with the complete guideline, are more lax than those required by Australia. 72 hours after flying, you must present a negative PCR, another six hours before and the last one, upon arrival at the border. Neither partial nor complete vaccination will be required.
Djokovic has played the tournament eleven times and has won it five of them (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2020). He has a balance there of 41 wins and six losses and among all his appearances he has pocketed 2,735,475 dollars (just over three million euros). This would be Djokovic’s first appearance this season outside of the ATP Cup, after the scandal that caused his attempt to enter Australia to play the Open and the subsequent legal battle against the local authorities for his visa, which led to his expulsion from the oceanic country.