After losing unexpectedly in the semifinals of the ATP 250 in Geneva on Friday, against the Czech Tomas Machac, Novak Djokovic is in Paris to face the defense of the title won last year at Roland Garros. The Serbian arrives at the French event with some doubts due to his unusually mediocre performance so far this season. He has not yet won a title or played in a final, and has suffered defeats against rivals who were a priori much inferior to him, which is why he is very clear when it comes to pointing out how he faces the Parisian major: “With low expectations and high hopes.” This is how his appearance before the media began this Sunday. “I’m almost a little embarrassed to say what my expectations are. Anything other than a title is not satisfactory to me. It may sound arrogant to a lot of people, but I think I have a career to back it up,” he clarified.
“I know what I am capable of, and particularly in the Grand Slams I usually play my best tennis, at least my goal is always that, and I was able to do that many times,” warned the Serbian. “On clay I want to reach my peak here in Paris, at Roland Garros. Last year I had an incredible campaign, particularly here, and I hope this will be a great tournament for me as well,” he added. “The five months I have had so far in 2024 have not been very good tennis-wise. That’s why I have a kind of daily focus, trying to build form and momentum so that I can have a better chance of going further in the tournament,” explained the world number one.
Will try to see Zverev-Nadal
“I know exactly what I have to do in a Grand Slam. “It is a completely different type of tournament and feeling than any other on the calendar,” insisted Djokovic, who has not been too motivated in other events he has played this season. At the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner kept him from the final, but his performance was high. ”As a professional tennis player, you have to be more accustomed to defeats than victories,” he argued. “You have to accept it and adapt to the feeling of failing or losing most of the time, and then you have to face injuries in a career that is long,” said the one from Belgrade, who has experienced “several of these particular situations.” in his carrer. “I had to find a new beginning, so to speak, and I did. In some cases before and in others a little later, but I managed to find the right game, the right mentality.”
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Djokovic admits that he will try to watch the match that Alexander Zverev and Rafa Nadal will play on Monday: “If I don’t have anything smarter to do at that time, I will definitely watch it, although since it is daytime, I have more obligations, but I will try. “Everyone will want to see what is going to happen.” Finally, Novak did not want to detail the problems that have led him to have a rather weak course. “There are several things that were happening in the last few months, but I don’t want to get into that. I hope you understand. I just don’t want to open Pandora’s box and talk about it.”
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2024-05-26 15:17:23
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