Novak Djokovic claims he is "setting up everything to peak in Paris", says he prefers to play Bo5 matches against younger players
Novak Djokovic recently shed some light on his preparations for the upcoming French Open. Djokovic claimed he is leaving no stone unturned to get into peak form at Paris, and also talked about what gives him an advantage in the best-of-five sets format over the younger players.
Novak Djokovic will head to Roland Garros as the top seed, and in the eyes of most, the favorite behind usual suspect Rafael Nadal. But for now, the Serb is playing in the Belgrade 2 event, where he is hoping to fine-tune his game ahead of the claycourt Major.
Speaking to the media ahead of his Belgrade campaign, Novak Djokovic explained why the match practice in his hometown event is so important for his Roland Garros chances.
"I've been setting up everything to peak in Paris and here it's about matchplay and it's about working on certain specific details in my game that hopefully I'll be able to tweak them and to make them perfectly tuned in Paris," Djokovic said.
The 34-year-old then went on to assert that Slams are a different ball game compared to other tournaments, something that is particularly highlighted at the clayocurt Major.
"That’s definitely where I want to shine and it’s a Grand Slam," Djokovic said. "It's a two-week long event, it's clay, it's very demanding in every aspect. But I’m happy with the way I've been feeling on the court and playing, so hopefully I can go all the way there."
Shifting his focus to the debate over the number of sets in Slams, Novak Djokovic claimed that he sees himself faring better against younger players in the longer format due to his vast experience.
"If I have to play against young tennis players I prefer to play matches to the best of five sets than to three," the Serb said. "I feel that physically I am well and in matches of this type I have much more experience than them. Obviously that does not guarantee me victory, but I feel that I am a little ahead of them. The longer a game is, the more I feel that I can beat them."
Novak Djokovic then referred to his Italian Open final against Rafael Nadal, claiming that he could have continued playing for longer. That, the Serb added, gives him the belief that he is physically prepared to contest five-set matches at Roland Garros.
"I finished the final in Rome very happy with the way I played," Djokovic said. "Physically I finished well and I felt that in the final I could have continued for a few hours more. That means that I am ready to fight the best of five sets against the best players on the circuit. I am fully prepared to go to Roland Garros for everything."
"I'm doing more specific fitness that is related to more matchplay" - Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic also briefly described the new training methods he has adopted to fine-tune his game ahead of the French Open. The Serb revealed that he is more focused on actual match practice instead of sweating it out for long hours at the gym.
"I'm doing more specific fitness that is related to more matchplay," Novak Djokovic said. "It’s not anymore long hours lifting weights and stuff like this. We have obviously a programme that we are respecting and accomplishing on the court with tennis training and also fitness training."