World No. 1 Novak Djokovic acknowledged he was happy with his Belgrade campaign because he accomplished his goal of playing several matches and giving himself the much-needed match practice. Djokovic’s clay season got off to a rough start as he suffered a shock defeat in his Monte Carlo Masters opener.
Djokovic bounced back the following week in Belgrade as he reached the final before losing to Andrey Rublev in three sets. En route to reaching the final, Djokovic beat Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmnanovic and Karen Khachanov – all in three sets.
“Well, I could have easily gone out in the first match of the tournament and had four three-setters that went, each one, over two and a half hours, so I was looking for some more competitive match play. I was looking to spend more time on the court, and that’s what I got.
So of course playing finals is a good result and I have to be positive about it,” Djokovic said, as quoted on Sportskeeda.
Djokovic set to play the full clay season
Djokovic faces no any restrictions this clay season as he is able to play wherever he wants.
Djokovic admitted that not haivng to worry about other stuff helps. “I’m happy that I’m back on track in terms of being able to play in tournaments and, you know, having clarity in terms of schedule, where I need to go, where I can go, where I can peak and where I want to peak,” Djokovic added.
Djokovic is still not at his best level but he is not concerned as he underlined that his top priority is to be at his best when the time comes for the French Open and Wmbledon. “Obviously in clay that’s Roland Garros, and then I can be also in London playing in Wimbledon, which is, of course, a very important tournament to me.
I’m happy with the next few months, where I have an understanding and clarity where I can play. So hopefully I will be able to get the best out of myself, particularly in Grand Slams,” Djokovic said.
