Deportation From Australia Helped Me – Djokovic

Novak Djokovic’s long absence from competitive tennis at the start of last year after he was deported from Australia helped him “achieve some great results,” he said in a press conference on Saturday ahead of the 2023 Australian Open.

Djokovic played just two tournaments in the opening four months of 2022 due to his decision to not be vaccinated against Covid-19, and resulting failure to comply with travel rules of some countries hosting tournaments.

This enforced time off, however, allowed him to spend more time training.

“As a professional tennis player on the highest level, don’t have much time to really have a longer training block,” Djokovic told reporters. “We have a very long season … you have a few weeks here and there.

“The fact that I wasn’t playing for several months at the beginning of last year allowed me to really get together with my team and work on my body, on my strokes, which has later helped me to achieve some great results.”

Later that year, Djokovic won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, as well as his sixth ATP Finals win, and he has begun 2023 in a similar vein with victory at the Adelaide International.