Djokovic heads to Madrid, seeking form ahead of Roland-Garros
The Serbian makes his return to Madrid after a last appearance in 2022.
Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic
Novak Djokovic is making his return to clay after being eliminated in his opening match in Monte Carlo a fortnight ago. There, the Serb played a catastrophic match against Alejandro Tabilo (6-3, 6-4) and even apologised for his poor performance in a press conference.
In Madrid, a tournament he has won three times (2011, 2016, 2019) and from which he has been absent since 2022, Djokovic isn’t necessarily focused on lifting the trophy again. As in recent years, Djokovic – and coach Andy Murray – is aiming for top form at Grand Slams, which next means the French Open in a month’s time (25 May – 8 June).
“At the moment, I’m looking for my best level, with a view to Roland-Garros,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of expectations in terms of results here, to be honest, but I’m very excited about playing at the Caja Magica again. I feel a lot of positive energy and I hope to use it to play well.”
“In the service of a sport”
At the age of 37, Novak Djokovic has seen his greatest rivals retire in turn. In order, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have said goodbye to the world of professional tennis. The Serb is still here, ready to pester the new generation and keep the old one alive.
“Obviously when the three of my biggest rivals retired, you know, you can feel there’s a shift, not only in terms of the generations of players that are kind of now, all of a sudden, the main focus and attention is on them. But it’s just, you know, I guess it takes a little bit of time for people to accept the fact that Roger and Rafa are not playing, and Murray, and I guess one day myself, but I’m still trying to stay there and represent the older guys, the older generation. “
Djokovic is still in search of his 100th title on the Tour, which passed him by in Miami a few weeks ago, when he was beaten by Jakub Mensik in the final. More than anything, he wants to see his sport flourish and attract even more interest.
“That’s also one of the reasons why I keep on playing is because I feel like it also helps tennis still thrive on the attention and crowd coming in and watching tournaments and getting interested. If you see the numbers actually of the attendance in the Grand Slams as well and some, like Indian Wells, it’s record-breaking crowd in the last few years.”
In his first match at the Caja Magica, Djokovic will take on Matteo Arnaldi, ranked 44th in the world, an opponent he has never faced in his career.
