Novak Djokovic news: Controversial Serb set to return to competition in Dubai
- Seb Sternik
- 26 January 2022
World number one Novak Djokovic will return to competitive action at next month’s Dubai Tennis Championships.
This will be the 34-year-old's first appearance since his deportation from Australia earlier this month.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships are set to get underway on February 21. Other entrants in the men's draw include Russia's Andrey Rublev, Poland's Hubert Hurkacz and Canada's Denis Shapovalov.
Entrants to Dubai are not required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 meaning Djokovic will be able to target his sixth crown at the tournament.
The Serb has not spoken publicly since his deportation from Australia but has been photographed during a trip to Montenegro.
Djokovic was hoping to defend his Australian Open crown this month after being given a medial exemption by Tennis Australia.
However, an intervention from the country's immigration minister, Alex Hawke, saw the player's visa cancelled just before the start of the Grand Slam.
The player appealed in the Federal Court one day before the event, but was forced to leave the country as the judges sided with the government minister.
