Novak Djokovic says he has ‘low expectations, but high hopes’ heading into the French Open after what has been a turbulent season so far.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is yet to claim a title in 2024 with his best results on the Tour being runs to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Monte Carlo Masters and Geneva Open. His most recent defeat occurred last week in Switzerland where he was sick during his loss to Tomas Machac, who is currently ranked outside the top 40. Before that, in Rome, he suffered a blow to the head in a freak accident when a fan dropped their bottle from the stand.
It has been far from ideal preparation for Djokovic, who is the reigning champion in Paris and is bidding to extend his record major title tally.
“It’s tough to talk about. It’s very subjective,” Djokovic said during his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday about managing his expectations.
“I almost feel a bit embarrassed to say what my expectations are. Anything but a title for me is not satisfactory. It always has been like that. I know it might sound arrogant to a lot of people, but I think I have a career that backs it up.
“So that’s why my hopes and goals are always the same, but I have to lower the expectations. When I say that I mean maybe not thinking too much ahead in advance in terms of the tournament and who I might face in the later rounds, but really taking it day by day, step by step, and really building my game. Because that’s what I have really been struggling with, not playing at a consistently good level.”
Djokovic, who recently turned 37, has stated on numerous occasions that his priority is peaking at the big events. The last time he failed to reach at least the quarter-final of a Grand Slam was back in 2020 at the US Open when he got disqualified from his match after inadvertently hitting a lines judge with a ball.
However, his recent struggles on the Tour have opened the door for others to contest for the title at Roland Garros with some saying the draw is the most open it has been for years.
“I know what I’m capable of, and particularly in the Grand Slams I normally play the best tennis, at least I aim always to play the best tennis, and I was most of my career able to do that, so that’s the goal.” A defiant Djokovic stated.
“I have been saying for quite a while that in terms of clay, I want to peak in Roland Garros. Last year I had an amazing year particularly here in Roland Garros, and hopefully, I can have a great tournament.
“Of course it does affect me, the five months that I had so far in the year haven’t been great in terms of my tennis. That’s why I have a kind of an approach that is focused on a daily basis more trying to build the form and momentum so that I can have a better chance to reach further in the tournament.”
So what has been misfiring for Djokovic who has made substantial changes to his team in recent months? He is no longer working with Goran Ivanisevic and has changed his fitness trainer. He is currently being trained by Gebhard Gritsch who has worked with him in the past.
Such changes may have contributed to Djokovic’s recent results but the Serbian refused to pinpoint the reasons.
“it’s various things that were happening in the last couple of months, but I don’t want to get into it.” He said.
“I don’t want to open Pandora’s Box and talk about things.
“What has happened, happened, and it’s in the past. It’s something that I can’t (let) affect anymore, but I can kind of learn to rectify certain things and right the certain things that are wrong and really not serving the purpose of my highest performance level.
“That’s what we have been working on as a team, and hopefully it will give us good results here.”
Djokovic faces local player Pierre-Hugues Herbert in his opening match on Tuesday.
