Belgrade Open: Round of 32, Djokovic at Home

ahead of Roland Garros after losing in his opening match of the clay-court season to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Nole's recent loss has alarmed the Serbian who is now looking to defend his title at Roland Garros next month. Djokovic will now enter his home country to build his confidence and game in the third tournament of the season.

Will Novak Live Up to His Impressive Belgrade Record?

Despite Djokovic's continued absence in tournaments across the world due to his unvaccinated status, it was confirmed that he would play in the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade. Djokovic's uncle Goran revealed to the Serbian outlet Telegraf that the 34-year-old intends to play the upcoming edition. "Unlike the problems in Australia, everything should be fine here," Goran remarked. "Novak confirmed that he will certainly participate, and we still have a lot of attractive things, so we expect a strong tournament again." Novak Djokovic has left behind a rich history in the Serbian capital, which includes five competitive appearances there previously. In 2021, Belgrade held two ATP 250 tournaments, both of which listed Djokovic in the draw. He lost to Aslan Karastev in the semifinals of the first one, before moving ahead to beat Alex Molcan for the title in the second.

Possible Challenges for the Serbian

For Djokovic to traverse into the later stages of the event, he might have to tackle players like compatriot Laslo Djere. The fellow Serbian reached the last 16 in Monaco, only losing to defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. If Djokovic beats Djere he could either face Indian Wells and Miami Open quarter-finalist Miomir Kecmanovic or Dominic Thiem. In addition, Nole's side also has Karen Khachanov, David Goffin and Filip Krajinovic.

Names in the bottom half of the draw include Andrey Rublev and last year’s finalist Aslan Karatsev. Rublev will encounter a qualifier or Henri Laaksonen in his first match of the week and could possibly be awaiting a last-eight meeting with Cristian Garin. Karatsev might face Oscar Otte or Alejandro Tabilo in his first match with Fabio Fognini also present in his quarter. The tournament commences on Monday and the winner would receive 250 ranking points.

Djokovic Ready to Enter His Third Tournament in 2022

In Djokovic's three other Belgrade appearances before 2021, Djokovic clinched the title twice - in 2009 and 2011. In the former season, he bowed out due to injury in the quarterfinals against Filip Krajinovic. However, Djokovic now holds an impressive 14-2 win-loss record at the venue. Although Novak didn’t have a commendable run in Monte Carlo, the 20 times Grand Slam champion has taken note of his weak points and is planning to perform better at home ground. He said, “I’m going to look with my team into reasons why that was the case and go back to the drawing board and hopefully next week will be better in Belgrade.”