Novak Djokovic says he is raring to go as he finalises his preparations for this week’s Monte Carlo Masters.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been sidelined from the Tour for four weeks after failing in his attempt to obtain a special exemption to play in America. International visitors to the country must be vaccinated against COVID-19 which Djokovic isn’t. During this period the Serbian briefly fell from the top of the rankings before returning to No.1 seven days ago.
“I’m motivated because I didn’t play for the past month,” Djokovic told reporters on Sunday.
There is a silver lining to his recent break from the Tour with it giving the 35-year-old more time to prepare for the clay swing. Djokovic hopes that this has set him up for a strong run in Monte Carlo. A tournament where he has experienced mixed results in the past.
He is a two-time winner in Monte Carlo but he hasn’t progressed beyond the quarter-final stage since 2016 and failed to win back-to-back matches in his two most recent appearances. Overall, Djokovic’s career win-loss at the tournament stands at 35-13.
“I haven’t played really good tennis here. So I’m hoping that this year I can start the clay season better than I did in previous years, hopefully build my form as I’m coming closer to Paris,” he said.
“Comparing to last year, it’s a whole different situation. I feel I have match play in my legs more than enough to be happy about the clay season.”
It is somewhat ironic that Djokovic hasn’t been able to shine in recent years at the Monte Carlo Country Club which is one of his training bases. The Serbian has lived in Monano for some years with his family. Although the tennis facility isn’t actually part of the city-state, it is 150 meters outside of Monaco’s northern border in France.
“I know the club very well. I’m one of the players that lives in Monaco and use this club as a training base. It’s a great feeling sleeping in your own bed on your own pillow and being able to have kind of a home feeling of playing in the tournament.” Djokovic commented.
The world No.1 will be hoping to extend his record tally of Masters 1000 titles to 39 this week. His mission of doing so has been made slightly easier with the withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal due to injury. However, 15 out of the world’s top 20 players will still feature in the draw.
Granted a bye in the first round, Djokovic will begin his campaign against either Mackenzie McDonald or Ivan Gakhov.
