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Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his second round match against Russia's Ivan Gakhov at the Monte Carlo Masters in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, on April 11 2023. Picture: ERIC GAILLARD/REUTERS
Monte Carlo — Novak Djokovic returned to the ATP Tour with an “ugly” straight-sets win over Ivan Gakhov at Monte Carlo, and while the world No 1 has had extended preparation on clay in 2023 he said he needs more time to adapt to the surface.
Djokovic is not vaccinated against Covid-19, and could not play at Indian Wells and Miami in March as he failed to get a waiver to enter the US.
He spent the time training on clay before the French Open, where he will target a 23rd Grand Slam, but the Serbian’s 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Russian qualifier Gakhov on Tuesday showed he needs more time to get into a rhythm.
“Throughout my career I needed one, two weeks of tournaments to really start to play the way I want to. It’s the case again this year, though I trained for three weeks and felt good playing practice points,” Djokovic told reporters.
“But it’s different when you play a match. Today [Tuesday] especially was quite windy on the court, so not easy to find the rhythm, to have the ball right, the ball toss and playing a lefty, playing someone that has not much to lose.
“All these things are a factor in the way you feel on the court. I’m really glad I overcome the first step, because I hope things will be better and easier from this point.”
The Australian Open champion said the level of his tennis was “not very high” at the moment and he was not sure when it would pick up.
“The good feelings might come as soon as the next match or later,” said Djokovic, who plays Lorenzo Musetti or Luca Nardi in the third round.
“I don’t know. We’ll keep working on practice courts and see what happens.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Djokovic admits he needs prep time for clay
Monte Carlo — Novak Djokovic returned to the ATP Tour with an “ugly” straight-sets win over Ivan Gakhov at Monte Carlo, and while the world No 1 has had extended preparation on clay in 2023 he said he needs more time to adapt to the surface.
Djokovic is not vaccinated against Covid-19, and could not play at Indian Wells and Miami in March as he failed to get a waiver to enter the US.
He spent the time training on clay before the French Open, where he will target a 23rd Grand Slam, but the Serbian’s 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Russian qualifier Gakhov on Tuesday showed he needs more time to get into a rhythm.
“Throughout my career I needed one, two weeks of tournaments to really start to play the way I want to. It’s the case again this year, though I trained for three weeks and felt good playing practice points,” Djokovic told reporters.
“But it’s different when you play a match. Today [Tuesday] especially was quite windy on the court, so not easy to find the rhythm, to have the ball right, the ball toss and playing a lefty, playing someone that has not much to lose.
“All these things are a factor in the way you feel on the court. I’m really glad I overcome the first step, because I hope things will be better and easier from this point.”
The Australian Open champion said the level of his tennis was “not very high” at the moment and he was not sure when it would pick up.
“The good feelings might come as soon as the next match or later,” said Djokovic, who plays Lorenzo Musetti or Luca Nardi in the third round.
“I don’t know. We’ll keep working on practice courts and see what happens.”
Reuters
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