“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you normally, as a professional tennis player at the highest level, don’t have much time for really long training blocks,” Djokovic told reporters on Saturday.
“The fact that I wasn’t playing for a number of months at the beginning of last year gave me a chance to really connect with my team and work on my body, my strokes, which has subsequently given me some good results. helped to do.”
Djokovic told local broadcaster Nine Network he felt like “the villain of the world” last year in Melbourne, where he was detained in a hotel with refugees before being deported.
However, he was given a warm welcome by a packed crowd at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night during a warm-up match against home hero Nick Kyrgios.
Djokovic, who is bidding for a record 10th Australian Open title, said he had no choice but to move on from last year’s events.
He told reporters, “Well, you have to. I mean, in a way, if I hold a grudge, maybe if I’m not able to move forward, I wouldn’t be here.”
