Novak Djokovic spoke about overcoming doubts after the Serb’s 6-3 6-1 victory over Corentin Moutet in Rome.
The six-time champion was broken in his opening two service games but recovered to only drop two more games on his way to victory.
It’s a victory that’s not only important to his Roland Garros preparations but takes him one step closer to a 1,100th ATP tour victory.
Speaking after his 86 minute win over the Charismatic Frenchman Djokovic admitted it was harder than practice sets in training which explained his slow start, “Match play is different to practise sets,” Djokovic explained to the ATP website.
“I played a lefty and I have not practised with a lefty in a while, so it took me a little time to adjust to the different rotations of the ball. The first four games were quite bad from me. A bad start. I lost both my services games.
“But then I played well. I only lost one game from 1-3 down. Corentin is a very talented player. He has great hands and is very unpredictable. You don’t know what comes up next, so I had to stay focused, which I did and it is a good opening match.”
Djokovic will now aim to complete a landmark moment in his career when he plays the in-form Alejandro Tabilo in the third round.
Tabilo recently won the Challenger event in Aix en Provence so this will be perfect for Djokovic who is only playing his second clay event of the season and is in need of testing matches.
There have been many doubts circulating around Djokovic as he continues to change his team and pick his schedule carefully.
However the Serb is looking forward to once again overcoming those doubts in Rome, “You always have doubts,” Djokovic explained.
“Every single match. It is just the manner of how you deal with them and how long they stay there. How long they overwhelm your whole being and mind. It is an internal battle always more than an external battle. If you win that battle the external battle becomes a little bit more likely for you to win.”
Djokovic will play his third round match on Sunday.
