Novak Djokovic has given a reality check to those expecting him to do well in Monte Carlo this week. The world No. 1 is playing his first tournament in almost a month after suffering a surprise early exit in Indian Wells. And he is taming his expectations despite being a two-time former champion at the event.
Djokovic is back in action at this week’s Monte-Carlo Masters, exactly four weeks after his last match, where he faces Roman Safiullin. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has barely played this year, going 8-3 in matches across three tournaments, the United Cup, Australian Open and Indian Wells.
His latest defeat was the most shocking, as Djokovic crashed out to then-world No. 123 and lucky loser Luca Nardi in Indian Wells and later pulled out of the Miami Open. The 36-year-old is now hoping to bounce back on the clay, especially because this year’s Olympic tennis event will be played on the surface at the site of the French Open.
But Djokovic doesn’t have too much belief for the first event of the clay swing given his form and his recent results in Monte Carlo. “My expectations are not very high, with the way I have been playing this year at the tournaments and also the results that I had in Monaco in previous years were not great, so I keep my expectations low,” he told Eurosport.
Instead, the 98-time career title winner wants to find his footing on the surface so he can peak at the most important events – the French Open and the Olympic Games. He continued: “For me, it is about building my game on clay courts and trying to reach the peak again. For some players like myself, it requires a little more time to reach the top level of tennis.”
While Djokovic has enjoyed success in Monaco – winning the title twice and reaching two other finals – he has not been beyond the third round since 2019. “Earlier in my career I was doing better in Monte Carlo. I won titles in 2013 and 2015, quite a long time ago. The last five or six editions here have not been that successful and I am always hoping that could change,” he added.
