Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic addressed the media after his defeat against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich in the second round of the Masters 1,000 in Monte Carlo, which marked his start to the season on clay and his return to competition after not playing an official match since the Dubai tournament in February.
Djokovic did not hesitate to congratulate Davidovich for his great match as well as acknowledging that the Spaniard was better than him throughout the match. “I want to congratulate Alejandro. He was a better player than me today. He was able to find a better rhythm than I thought in the first two sets. He had me on the ropes the whole match. I’ve been in tow on the scoreboard constantly.”
The Serbian also confessed that he is still far from his best level and admitted that he knew it would be a tough match. “I always believed that I could come back and win the match, and I came here even though a lot of things were against me about how I would feel on the court. As for the game and my physique, I was far from my best level. And of course, in these kinds of conditions and circumstances, you have to work twice as hard as you normally do. I also played against a clay court specialist who already played a match on center court a few days ago. I expected this to be a tough match, a physical battle and it was. But unfortunately I was in a worse situation than expected and my week ends here.”
Djokovic also acknowledged that it is difficult for him to adapt to clay and that, in general, his starts to the season on clay are usually not good. “A few days ago I learned that it would take me a while to feel good on clay. Historically that has been the case. I have never played well in my first tournaments on clay. But that’s what there is. I have to accept defeat and keep working.”
Finally the Serbian lamented his physical state in the third set, where Davidovich overwhelmed him and hopes to regain his form and confidence before competing next week in Belgrade. “I didn’t like how I felt physically in the third set, I ran out of gas completely. I couldn’t have exchanges with him. If I couldn’t and you don’t feel your legs on clay, it’s mission impossible. Now I will look with my team for the reasons for what happened and we will analyze it. I hope next week will go better in Belgrade.”