Following a disheartening defeat to rising young Italian Musetti in the Monte-Carlo Masters third round last week, Novak Djokovic has discussed his goals for the remainder of the clay-court season.
In addition to playing poorly during the loss, Djokovic also seemed to be dealing with an elbow issue for which he needed a protective sleeve.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion, though, seems to be in a typically upbeat frame of mind despite the most recent loss, referencing both his outstanding run of form at the close of last year and the beginning of this season as well as his uncanny ability to peak at the biggest tournaments despite inconsistent play.
These are the biggest tournaments on the ATP tour, so to speak. You want to play your best in the 1000 events, of course. And I was lucky to maintain consistently positive outcomes and strong performances in these competitions throughout my career. Of course, I take great delight in the number of competitions at 1,000 a category level that I have won. Naturally, I always want to advance.
Djokovic speaking to ATP Tennis Radio Podcast
The Serb acknowledged that his concentration is elsewhere during the clay-court season when asked about losing the top spot to Carlos Alcaraz during the Sunshine Double and later regaining it.
Well, I’m actually focusing on my performance and trying to improve my form in preparation for Roland Garros. That is the event I’m going to try to take a surface-level look at.
The 22-time major champion hopes to have the same success this year as he had last year in overcoming extended layoffs.
I believe that my post-US Open form from the previous year came from the fact that I did not travel to America. After winning Wimbledon, going back and winning in Tel Aviv indoors, and then really not looking back from there, I had time to really prepare myself well. On the surface, it’s a completely new story, but ideally, the outcomes will remain the same.