Novak Djokovic Set for Long-Awaited Return

He took five of the eight Grand Slams in those two seasons before injury started to catch up with him towards the end of 2016.

Djokovic has been rarely seen on the court ever since.

However, the Serbian star is set to make his comeback at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships, held in Abu Dhabi.

You can check out his thoughts on his comeback covered by the telegraph magazine.

The three-day tournament will be the first time that Djokovic has played since aggravating an elbow injury nearly five months ago.

Crucially, it will give the 12-time Grand Slam winner some much-needed court time before the Australian Open starts on 15th January.

It will be interesting to see how Djokovic copes with such a little amount of preparation before the event in Melbourne.

Bookies Convinced Djokovic Can Bounce Back

Djokovic is currently ranked as joint-favourite with Roger Federer at 3/1 (Ladbrokes) to win the Australian Open title. This places him just ahead of Rafael Nadal (7/2) and Andy Murray (7/1), who both have suffered injury problems of their own in recent years.

It will be fascinating to see if all four of these players, who have dominated men’s tennis over the last decade, are 100% fit. If so, fans are in for a treat in 2018’s first Grand Slam.

Punters could have a bit of conundrum when picking a winning bet for the Australian Open though, as injury lay-offs mean Djokovic and Murray will not be taking their usual places at the top of the seedings.

At the time of writing, Djokovic is seeded 12th and Murray 16th. This could lead to a potential clash with either Federer or Nadal in the quarter-finals or last 16. It also means there is a chance for a ‘dark horse’ player with big odds making their way to the final. Before betting, check out  http://www.freebets.co.uk/offers-and-promotions/ to see if you bag a free tennis bet for the tournament.

Time for Other Players to Step Up

Whether or not Djokovic returns with the same imperious form remains to be seen. However, there is still a chance for other players to really grab their opportunity at the top of the men’s game.

Despite brilliant form in 2017, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal cannot go on at the top forever. The time seems ripe for a couple of new stars to start winning multiple Grand Slams.

One such candidate could be 20-year-old Alexander Zverev. He won two Masters titles in 2017 and qualified for the season-ending ATP World Tennis Finals in November.

The young German has bags of potential, but also respect for the brilliance of legends like Federer. You can read the young man’s thoughts on his future at the article about him made by the Independent Magazine.

Incidentally, Ladbrokes have priced him at 11/1 to win the Australian Open.  To do so, he may have to beat a certain Serbian tennis master along the way.