Novak Djokovic admits his decline has been hard to accept
What's the story?
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who resumed competitive play with a win at the Davis Cup, has admitted that it had been hard for him to accept his decline in the past few months. The 12-time Grand Slam champion secured a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over World No. 24 Albert Ramos Vinolas in Belgrade on Friday to put Serbia ahead in the Davis Cup, that ultimately helped them beat Spain 3-0 in the Davis Cup quarter-finals.
The struggling 12-time Grand Slam champion, who surrendered his No. 1 ranking to Andy Murray last year, said that even though he had indeed lost his best game of late, his Davis Cup performance showed that he can get back to winning ways.
“I have lost my best game in the last few months,” Djokovic said. “It was hard for me to accept after being on top for the last six years but today’s match shows that I can get back to winning ways,” the Serb hoped, as quoted by AFP.
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Djokovic could not defend his title at the Miami Masters in March due to a right elbow injury. The Davis Cup was the first event that he played since losing to Nick Kyrgios in the pre-quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters last month.
The heart of the matter
Since completing the much-coveted ‘Career Slam’ at the French Open last year, Djokovic has been a shadow of himself. He has managed to win just two titles in the next 11 tournaments because of which he has now slipped down to No. 2 in the rankings.
This year, he did begin the season with a title at the Qatar Open but that could not bring back the imperious Djokovic, and the Serb went on to suffer a five-set defeat to the World No. 117 Denis Istomin in the second round of the season’s opening Major.
His steep slide has been quite shocking considering how dominant he was in the first six months of the 2016 season which awarded him six titles.
What's next?
The former World No. 1 will next be seen in action at the first major clay court tournament of the season – the Monte Carlo Masters, scheduled for April 15-23. He is a two-time champion at this picturesque event and will be vying for the title along with nine-time champion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked, Andy Murray.
Author's Take
Djokovic feeling confident is indeed an encouraging sign ahead of the defence of his French Open title this summer. It can definitely make the ATP Tour a lot more competitive and exciting as the clay season kicks off.