Novak returns to action this week in Dubai where he won the ATP World Tour 500 outdoor event in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The tournament takes place from February 25 to March 2.
Top-seeded Djokovic will be looking to continue his fantastic season-opening form. The four-time Australian Open winner is making his seventh appearance (23-3 record), going for his fourth Dubai Duty Free Championships title.
Nole’s first round opponent will be his compatriot and world no.42 Viktor Troicki (Tuesday at 19.00 local time / 16.00 CET). Novak leads their H2H 12-1.
The 25-year-old Belgrade native could meet either David Goffin or Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.
His possible rivals in the later stages of the tournament are:
Quarter-finals: Andreas Seppi [7]
Semi-finals: Juan Martin Del Potro [4], Mikhail Youzhny [8], Marcos Baghdatis
Final: Roger Federer [2], Tomas Berdych [3], Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [5], Janko Tipsarevic [6]
“It’s one of the toughest tournaments on the ATP World Tour, because of the fields over the past 10 years,” Novak said on Sunday. “It is very well known for top players coming here and playing their best. I won it three times in a row. I feel great here and have a lot of support from Serbians. The fact that I haven’t played an official match since Davis Cup means that I am fresh mentally and ready for a strong week.”
Last year, Novak was stopped in semi-finals by Andy Murray (2-6, 5-7), who then fell to Roger Federer in the title match.
Nole partnered his brother Marko in the doubles competition. They fell in the opening round to Russian-Belgian combination Nikolay Davydenko/Dick Norman 6-4, 3-6, 4-10 in 75 minutes.
The Serbian pair had a 4-1 lead in super-tiebreaker, but their more experienced rivals won nine points in a row to seal the victory.
You can follow the tournament action via Official Twitter account of the 2013 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, @DDFTennis.
Full Singles Main Draw:
Novak Djokovic [1] – Viktor Troicki
David Goffin – Roberto Bautista Agut
Lukas Rosol – Qualifier
Andreas Seppi [7] – Paul-Henri Mathieu
Juan Martin Del Potro [4] – Marcos Baghdatis
Somdev Devvarman – Qualifier
Qualifier- Qualifier
Mikhail Youzhny [8] – Blaz Kavcic
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [5] – Michael Llodra
Dmitry Tursunov [WC] – Jan Hajek
Tobias Kamke – Mikhail Kukushkin
Tomas Berdych [3] – Rajeev Ram [WC]
Janko Tipsarevic [6] – Nikolay Davydenko
Bernard Tomic – Victor Hanescu
Marcel Granollers – Albert Montanes
Roger Federer [2] – Malek Jaziri [WC]
