Djokovic will begin his clay-court season at the Monte Carlo Masters 

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has revealed he will begin his clay-court season at the Monte Carlo ATP Masters in April as he prepares for his French Open title defence.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner was unable to defend his Australian Open title in January after being deported from the country, having initially been admitted to the tournament despite not being vaccinated against coronavirus.

The 34-year-old will also miss this month's tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami, unable to enter the United States without proof of vaccination.

'Novak will open his 2022 clay-court season in Monte Carlo, where he won the Masters 1000 title twice, in 2013 and 2015,' a post on his website said.

Monaco, where Djokovic lives, allows international travellers with a proof of recovery from COVID-19 in the last six months. 

The world no 2 was kicked out of the Australian Open this year due to being unvaccinated 

The Monte Carlo competition, from April 10 to 17, will be the second tournament in the 2022 season for Djokovic, who lost in the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 event in Dubai last month.

France loosened its COVID-19 restrictions this month, with vaccine passports no longer mandatory as of March 14, opening the door for the Djokovic to defend his title at Roland Garros. The major is scheduled to start in May.

Djokovic is currently ranked number two in the world after losing his world number one status to Russian Daniil Medvedev last week.