"He's going to be more motivated than ever" - Kim Clijsters backs Novak Djokovic to succeed on Australian Open comeback in 2023
Kim Clijsters believes Novak Djokovic will be a force to reckon with at the 2023 Australian Open. While the nine-time Australian Open winner has always been an overwhelming title favorite at the Melbourne Major, he will now be even more motivated to perform well given the incident involving him in Australia ahead of the 2022 edition, Clijsters opined.
The Serbian great will return to the Australian Open in January 2023 after the Australian government overturned his three-year visa ban. Earlier this year, Djokovic was deported from the country after losing a court battle regarding his coronavirus vaccination controversy, which led to a three-year ban from entering the country.
Now that he has been confirmed to make a comeback to his most successful Grand Slam, Clijsters is quite confident of his chances of winning a 10th title at Melbourne Park.
"I heard that he's (Novak Djokovic) able to play this year, in 2023 he's going to be able to go, and I'm sure he's going to be more motivated than ever to try and do well there again," Kim Clijsters recently said on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast.
The Belgian tennis great further reflected on Djokovic's 2022 Australian Open saga, calling it a "crazy situation" not just for the 21-time Grand Slam champion, but also for his team and family. She lauded him for leaving the stress behind or rather using it as fuel to maintain great focus and perform at his very best whenever he got the opportunity to play on tour in the 2022 season.
"Amazing. The way that he's able to leave a lot of the negative, the way that he's able to put that behind him and kind of use it all in a force on the court to play better and be even more focused, I absolutely admire it," Clijsters expressed.
"I wasn't in Australia when that whole thing was going on, but I can imagine it's really tough to go through, not just for him but for the team and everyone involved. It's a crazy situation," she added.
"I would love to pick his brain about it" - Kim Clijsters hails Novak Djokovic's focus on fitness and wellness
Kim Clijsters is quite intrigued by Novak Djokovic's particular focus on health and fitness, and how he takes good care of his body. The four-time Grand Slam singles champion said that she loves to watch the Serb play and go about his fitness work and would like to sit down with him to learn more about his mantras.
The 35-year-old entirely revamped his diet back in 2010-11 and has also incorporated new and highly effective fitness techniques into his routine over the years, something that adds to Clijsters' intrigue.
"I love watching him play, I love the focus on wellness and longevity, the way he takes care of his body," Clijsters further said during the chat with Craig Shapiro. "I find it so intriguing and interesting, and I just would love to sit down with him and pick his brain about it all and ask a million questions."
"How he's so into the recovery and it's not just the basic things that we are used to in the physio room. I was also, to a lot of people, probably out there when it comes to these things. That's why it intrigues me so much the things that he does," she added.
While most of his fellow top players on tour will play in the newly-launched ATP Cup in Australia ahead of the 2023 Australian Open, Djokovic will begin his season at the Adelaide International 1, an ATP 250 event. It is the only tournament on his calendar ahead of the first Grand Slam of the tennis season.
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