Physically Novak Djokovic is not where he wants to be, but I'm not discounting his chances at Roland Garros: Mark Knowles: Mark Knowles
Former doubles World No. 1 Mark Knowles believes Novak Djokovic will put his physical struggles behind him ahead of Roland Garros. The Serb has struggled to with his form and fitness after being denied entry into multiple tournaments due to his vaccination status.
Big respect to both players 👏
Djokovic played at an amazing level in the second set and it required something special from Rublev to stay with him. He had to play at his very best.
I have no doubt at all that Djokovic is on his way back, good luck!
https://t.co/p96abiIBk8
While speaking on Tennis Channel's Inside-In podcast, Knowles said he was surprised to see Djokovic struggling physically during the third set of the Serbia Open final against Andrey Rublev. However, he did suggests that Djokovic being exhausted made sense given that he was battling illness.
"Well I think I'm a little surprised," Knowles said. "It's come out that he mentioned that he's been battling illness, which kind of makes a little bit more sense, because obviously, we know that he's limited in matches, having been out for a long time, obviously he's dealt with a lot of off-court stress with figuring out when he can and can't play based on COVID protocols or so forth.
"I maybe wasn't as surprised in Monte-Carlo that he didn't have enough in the tank to withstand Davidovich Fokina. I just felt that maybe by Belgrade, couple more weeks, getting used to matches, even though he did have some tough matches as we know, throughout the week, I was just surprised to see him go away physically in that third set."
Knowles also said that Djokovic is yet to hit the level he wants to be from a physical standpoint.
"We've seen Novak of course, we've attached him to being super human for so long, what an incredible champion, just a physical machine. But, you know, after securing a very gritty second set, at home, where you think you'd get a little bit more energy, a little bit more inspiration, he just went away. But like I said once again, it's come out that he's been battling with illness, so clearly, physically he is not where he wants to be", Knowles added.
Knowles also said that he is not writing off the 34-year-old's chances and that we could see a different version of the Serb during Roland Garros.
"I'm not discounting Novak Djokovic, that's for sure, I know we're going to see an entirely different one, when it comes to, maybe before the French, but definitely during the French, we're going to see a different Novak Djokovic."
Novak Djokovic will next compete at the Madrid Open
After reaching the final of the Serbia Open, Novak Djokovic will enter the Madrid Open as the top seed. Having gotten some match practice under his belt over the last few weeks, the World No. 1 will fancy making a deep run in the Spanish capital.
The draw for the Madrid Open will be held on Friday at 6:30 pm local time.
Not long to wait until we see Djokovic's path to the 🏆
Djokovic last competed in Madrid in 2019, when he won the title by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.