Novak Djokovic serving at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021
Novak Djokovic will learn his draw for next week’s Serbia Open ATP 250 tournament on Saturday. The claycourt event will be held from April 18-24 at the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade, Serbia.
The draw will be held at 2:30pm local time on Saturday, as reported by Serbian news outlet Telegraf. Dominic Thiem, who is set to play the tournament, will be a special guest at the draw ceremony.
The field for the 2022 Serbia Open is strong, particularly given it is being played in the same week as the Barcelona Open ATP 500 tournament. Eight players currently ranked in the top 40 of the ATP rankings are set to feature.
World No. 1 Djokovic, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Aslan Karatsev, Cristian Garin, Fabio Fognini, Miomir Kecmanovic and Filip Krajinovic are set to be the eight seeded players.
Thiem, the current World No. 51, will be competing in his first ATP tour event since injuring his wrist at the Mallorca ATP 250 tournament on grass in June. The 28-year-old Austrian made his competitive return at the Marbella Challenger last month, where he fell 3-6, 4-6 to Pedro Cachin in the opening round.
The 2020 US Open champion has withdrawn from several scheduled events so far in 2022, including the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters.
This will be the sixth edition of the ATP 250 tournament, which returned after an eight-year absence in 2021. Defending champion Matteo Berrettini, who beat Karatsev 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(0) in last year’s final, will not feature.
So far, five players – Gael Monfils, Alex Molcan, Benjamin Bonzi, Hugo Gaston and Borna Coric – have withdrawn from the Belgrade event.
Novak Djokovic is a two-time former champion at the Serbia Open
Novak Djokovic at the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
Novak Djokovic has won the Serbia Open twice from his four previous appearances at the ATP 250 tournament. The 20-time Grand Slam champion triumphed in the inaugural edition of his home event in 2009, beating Lukasz Kubot in the final.
The Serb retired hurt during his quarterfinal against Filip Krajinovic at the 2010 Serbia Open, before defeating Feliciano Lopez to reclaim the crown in 2011. He did not compete in 2012, when Andreas Seppi won the title.
The 34-year-old was then edged by Aslan Karatsev in a thrilling three-set semifinal last year. The Serb later went on to win the Belgrade 2 tournament held in May, the week before winning the French Open.
