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Novak Djokovic confirmed that he is back to being fully healthy following his return to action in Doha.

On Monday, the Serb played his first match since retiring injured against Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open semifinal.

The world No. 7 started his comeback by playing doubles with Fernando Verdasco as he and the Spaniard crushed Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-1 in their Doha doubles opener.

Novak Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco© Qatar Tennis/Instagram – Fair Use

Following the match, Djokovic confirmed that his muscle tear injury was a thing of the past.

“I haven’t felt any pain, so I’ve been feeling great training the past 10 days, and past three days here in Doha,” the 37-year-old said.

“Today’s doubles match, obviously it’s different from singles, but it’s still a match, and you do have very dynamic movements that you have to do on the court, where you kind of test your body and how it feels.

“It felt great, so I have no concern.”

Djokovic on how he was doing while sidelined

Shortly after retiring at the Australian Open, the record 24-time Grand Slam champion also announced his withdrawal from Serbia’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark.

And after doing so, the former world No. 1 put emphasis on recovering from his muscle injury that derailed his chances of winning his 25th Grand Slam at this year’s Australian Open.

“I obviously focused mostly on my recovery of the muscle tear that I had. I recovered very well, then I started to train,” Djokovic said.

In the Doha singles, the Serb faces Matteo Berrettini in his first match, in what will be a rematch of the 2021 Wimbledon final.

When it comes to doubles, the 37-year-old and Verdasco are due to meet reigning Wimbledon champions Haari Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the quarterfinal.

WADA figure hits back at Novak Djokovic over favoritism claims in Jannik Sinner case

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WADA general counsel Ross Wenzel is firing back at claims that Jannik Sinner was subjected to preferential treatment after criticism from big names such as Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka.

Last weekend, it was revealed that the Italian tennis star and the WADA settled on a three-month doping suspension, so they won’t be meeting in a CAS court in April.

One of the things that instantly struck the eyes of many was the fact that the ban started on February 9th and will end on May 4th, which means the world No. 1 can play his home tournament Rome Masters and also won’t be forced to miss any Grand Slams.

The timing of the ban – and the details of their settlement – raised some questions.

Wawrinka said that he “does not believe in a clean sport anymore,” while Djokovic suggested that top players are indeed subjected to favoritism in doping cases.

WADA official denies the claims: Sinner’s case was a million miles away from doping

“This was a case that was a million miles away from doping,” Wada general counsel Wenzel told BBC Sport.

“The scientific feedback that we received was that this could not be a case of intentional doping, including micro-dosing.”

The WADA said in their statement that they accepted that Sinner didn’t intentionally or knowingly take a prohibited substance but wanted him to bear some responsibility for the mistake made by his team member that led to a failed doping test.

And now, one of their figures says they believed that a three-month suspension was enough.

“Wada has received messages from those that consider that the sanction was too high and, in some respects, if you have some saying this is unfair on the athlete, and others saying it’s not enough, maybe it’s an indication that although it’s not going to be popular with everyone, maybe it’s an indication that it was in the right place,” Wenzel added.

“When we look at these cases we try to look at them technically, operationally and we don’t do it with fear of what the public and the politicians or anyone is going to say.”