World no. 1 Novak Djokovic will compete at the Srpska Open in Banjaluka in April. Novak’s tournament moved from Belgrade to Banjaluka in the final year of their license, and the Serb wants to compete in front of the partisan crowd in Republika Srpska.
Djokovic played an exhibition match against Viktor Troicki in Banjaluka in 2009 and can not wait to compete again. Novak won two titles at home in Belgrade during the first stint of his event, lifting trophies in 2009 and 2011.
Djokovic won Belgrade 2 ahead of Roland Garros in 2021 and played in another final a year ago. Djokovic faced Andrey Rublev and experienced a 6-2, 6-7, 6-0 loss in two hours and 27 minutes. It was Novak’s second tournament of the season, playing without form and rhythm.
He advanced into the final after trailing in all four matches and gave everything against Rublev in the second set.
Novak Djokovic will compete at his event in Banjaluka in April.
However, Djokovic had nothing more left in the tank, experiencing the fifth bagel in the ATP finals and missing a chance to defend the crown in front of the partisan crowd at his tennis center.
Rublev won 24 points more than Djokovic thanks to sets one and three. The Russain fended off eight out of nine break chances and turned almost half of the return points into six breaks from 12 opportunities to emerge at the top.
Novak will be the top favorite to win the title in Banjaluka in two months, winning two crowns this year and hoping for more in the upcoming events. Djokovic claimed his tenth Australian Open title and matched Rafael Nadal at 22 Majors.
Novak will return to action in Dubai next week, seeking the ATP 500 title and hoping for good news ahead of Indian Wells and Miami. “I plan to compete in Banjaluka and look forward to it. If I’m healthy, I will be there. I played an exhibition match against Viktor Troicki in Banjaluka in 2009 and can not wait to return.
This is the last year of our license, and Romania will get it back in 2024. I hope everything will be ready for the Banjaluka edition; organizing the event in a different city is difficult, especially without established facilities.
I can not say much about other names; it’s too early. We would love to bring notable players, but it’s also essential to gather competitors from our region, especially Serbia and Croatia,” Novak Djokovic said.
