Djokovic to begin Belgrade title bid against Djere or Medjedovic

The world No 1 will be playing just his third event of 2022

Laurent Lairys / Panoramic

April 16, 2022

Novak Djokovic is likely to face some familiar foes as he bids for his first title of the year in the Serbia Open, which begins on Monday.

After a bye in the first round, the world No 1 will take on a Serb in his opening match, either world No 62 Laslo Djere or world No 490 Hamed Medjedovic.

Then he could face former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, making his own comeback from injury, or Miomir Kecmanovic. Karen Khachanov or Filip Krajinovic could be waiting in the semis and then, should he make it to the final, he could face Andrey Rublev or Fabio Fognini.

#Djokovic draw in Belgrade:

1R: Bye
2R: Medjedovic/Djere
QF: Kecmanovic/Thiem
SF: Khachanov/Krajinovic
F: Rublev/Fognini/Garin
— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) April 16, 2022

Djokovic lost in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters last week, beaten in three sets by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, in what was just his second event of the year.

The world No 1 was unable to play at the Australian Open after his visa was rejected due to the fact that he has not been vaccinated against Covid-19. He was then unable to enter the United States to play Indian Wells and Miami, for the same reason.