Clijsters backs Djokovic to make statement with Australian Open return: “He's going to be more motivated than ever”

Novak Djokovic is heavily favoured to win the Australian Open next year and Kim Clijsters backed him to get it done.

Djokovic was unable to compete at last year's Australian Open due to having his visa suspended. He was deported from the country because of it and missed out on the chance to win his 10th Australian Open which would be a new record. Nobody has as many triumphs down under and only Nadal ever won a grand slam event ten times.

Kim Clijsters believes he will return with a lot of motivation this year in his pursuit to finally get that elusive 10:

"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."

She added:

"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."

Concluding with:

"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."