Dubai (Reuters)

Novak Djokovic said his return to the world rankings looked like a major achievement after a turbulent year in which he was forced to miss several tournaments, including two of the four Grand Slams, but the Serbian faces a long fight for the title. on the ground in 2023.
Djokovic missed the 2022 Australian Open and was banned from the country after failing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine before returning this year to win his 10th Melbourne Park title and 22nd Grand Slam. , and return to the top of the world rankings.
He was forced to miss last year’s tournaments in the United States, including the US Open, because he was unable to enter the country due to his refusal to take the corona vaccine.
“I think this is the fewest points I can score at the top of the world rankings,” Djokovic told reporters after his win over Tomas Machak in Dubai. In the past, but also due to other players, some players missed big tournaments. With injuries and some of them without the greatest consistency.
He added: I think that makes the achievement even greater, at least in my team and in my eyes, I feel very proud, I work as hard as everyone else, I am very committed to the sport and I try hard.
Djokovic entered his 378th week at world number one, surpassing Steffi Graf’s record for most weeks at the top of the sport, but he said young players like Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas would eventually catch up.
Djokovic said: These players play at a high level all the time, they play many tournaments, I don’t play as much, I won’t play as many weeks as they do and in the end they lead. Evaluation, then I take it again, then they take it again, we go in circles.