The clay court season has not started well for Novak Djokovic. After falling in the round of 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters 1,000, the Serb stumbled again on clay at home and in front of his audience in the semi-finals of the Serbia Open in Belgrade, where he could not with the Russian Aslan Karatsev.
After the match Djokovic wanted to surrender to the game played by the Russian. “Hats off to Karatsev, he was bolder and deserved to win. I will not remember the great exchanges of this match because I lost. I am not happy with my performance. I resisted but he made big hits when I needed it. “
However, the world number 1 also took the opportunity to be self-critical and assured that if he wants to win Roland Garros he still has a lot of work ahead of him. “I've been unlucky at times, in one or two shots, but I've had a lot of ups and downs during the game. My main goal is Roland Garros, but I need to play better if I want to do something there. I have a lot of work ahead of me. “
Djokovic also regretted the game he displayed during the match. “From my point of view, that he played at a very low level. I have had moments of very good tennis and I have struggled. And this is good. I tried everything and the audience has been incredible. They tried to carry me to the end and because of them I think I won the second set. Unfortunately in the third he played better in the decisive moments. I had opportunities but that's the sport. “Djokovic is already looking at Roland Garros with the question of whether he will play at the Mutua Madrid Open before the Masters 1,000 in Rome … and the great clay-court event in Paris.