Djokovic has “a big desire” to play in Indian Wells and Miami
The Serb, back to the top of the ATP rankings after winning the Australian Open, wants to feature in March’s two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in the US.
It will be a difficult task, but he won’t throw in the towel. Novak Djokovic hopes he will be able to play in two of the three Masters 1000 in the ATP calendar that will be played in the US, Indian Wells, and Miami.
The 22 Grand Slam tournament winner applied for a special permit to enter the country, as unvaccinated travelers can’t enter the USA until the middle of May.
Nole wants to continue building momentum in the American hard-court tournaments after winning his 10th Australian Open title.
Djokovic, grateful to both tournaments
The Serb great said in Belgrade that “everything is in process and I’m thankful to Indian Wells and Miami for their support, publicly, and they would like me to be able to play”.
“I’m thankful for that because I have a big desire to play because I haven’t played there for several years so I’m looking forward to hopefully a positive decision coming sometime soon”, he added.
After recovering from a tear in his hamstring, Djokovic will return to action at the ATP tour event in Dubai.
‘Nole’ to break Steffi Graf’s record
After tying Rafa Nadal with the most Grand Slam tournaments ever won (22) in the men’s category, Djokovic wants to keep making history.
He has already broken Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks on the top of the ATP rankings and looks set to surpass Steffi Graf when he enters 378 weeks as the world’s No. 1 on Monday.
“Steffi Graf is one of the biggest legends of our sport in both men’s and women’s tennis. She is somebody that I truly admire and respect,” Djokovic expressed.
“Of course, it is very flattering that I can equal her record and I can break the record. Being number one in the world and winning Wimbledon was a dream. When I achieved that dream in 2011 I had to dream new dreams and set new goals”, he concluded.
Although Roland-Garros may not be his best shot at winning another major, he will try to repeat his 2016 and 2021 successes in the Parisian clay, although he will have to deal with fierce opposition, especially from Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.