World No.1 Novak Djokovic registered victory in his first match of 2022 when he beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-3 to open the Dubai Championships on Monday.

The 34-year-old showed no sign of rust or mental baggage from the Australian Open visa saga that rocked the sports world, producing a polished display to ease into the second round, afterward describing it as a “pleasant experience.

It was Djokovic’s first match this year after his Australian Open hopes were dashed when he was deported following an 11-day saga revolving around his decision not to have a Covid-19 vaccination and a controversial exemption he had been granted to play in the event.

“I couldn’t ask for better reception. It’s been a while since I played the last match and I couldn’t pick a better place to kick-start the season,” Djokovic, who had not played since the Davis Cup Finals in November, told fans after performing his trademark salute to all sides of the arena.

Djokovic will have a day off before facing either Russian Karen Khachanov or Australian Alex de Minaur. Asked by reporters later how he had been received by his fellow players, he said they had been “very friendly.”

“Majority of them actually welcomed me and said it’s nice to see me back on the tour,” he said. “That makes me feel great. I’m very thankful for that because having the kind of an understanding at least I would say, if not support from my peers and my colleagues, is very important to me because they are the people that I get to see sometimes more than my family.”

“I care greatly about the relationships that we have.”

While Djokovic has had no issues being allowed to play in Dubai, he said he currently will not be able to play at Indian Wells, because of strict vaccine laws in the United States.

“As of today I’m not able to play. But let’s see what happens. Maybe things change in the next few weeks.”