Novak Djokovic has offered some kind words on Maria Sharapova's impending return to the tennis scene.
Sharapova's return to tennis action have not earned much admiration from fellow competitors at the Tour, but Djokovic was one of the few who showed support to the WTA's former world No. 1. While Djokovic acknowledged that Sharapova should pay for her mistake, the Belgrade native was quick to defend the Siberian Siren from critics.
"From my opinion, I see that there was no intention in doing that (doping), because the rules changed this year, but it was an error and mistake that she and her team in a way had to take the consequences and pay for and the suspension is there rightly so," Djokovic said, reports Sports Illustrated.
Sharapova will return at the Tour sooner rather than later following the reduction of her doping ban. The former world No. 1 was handed down a two-year suspension by the International Tennis Federeation after testing positive on meldonium earlier this year, but after appealing to overturn or reduce the ban in June, the Court of Arbitration of Sports cut down the suspension to 15 months.
Meanwhile, Djokovic could be on the verge of losing his spot atop the ATP world rankings. Following Andy Murray's impressive run at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the Scot is in pole position to dethrone Djokovic, who has held the No. 1 spot for 120 consecutive-weeks. But despite suffering just his second loss at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 since 2010, Djokovic still has high hopes of ending the season strong.
"It's not over yet," Djokovic said, reports the ATP's official website. "There are a couple of big tournaments still along the way in Paris and London. I'll try to get ready for indoor season where I always, in the last couple of years, played pretty well. I'll try to get better."
Djokovic, who has failed to defend his crowns in the Asian Swing, is scheduled to pay at the BNP Paribas Open, where the 12-time Grand Slam winner will also attempt to defend his title. He will next compete at the Tour finale in London next month, where he also has a title to defend.