(Madrid) Despite going another week without adding a title to his list, Novak Djokovic is optimistic about the level of his game as the French Open approaches.
Posted at 12:13 p.m.
World number one Djokovic has yet to lift a trophy in 2022 while seeking to regain the form of his best days, after being banned from the Australian Open because he was not not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Saturday, in the semi-final of the Madrid Open, Djokovic lost in three sets against the young sensation Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb was hoping to make it to a second consecutive final, after losing to Andrey Rublev in Serbia last month.
PHOTO MANU FERNANDEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz
Despite the setback against Alcaraz, Djokovic said he leaves Madrid in good spirits as he prepares for the French Open, where he will defend his title.
“There’s no doubt that I played very good tennis, the best I’ve played this year,” Djokovic said. “Probably when the disappointment of losing this game wears off there will be a lot of positives to take away from this week. »
Djokovic says he felt he could have snatched the win from his 19-year-old rival — one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour — had he been able to “capitalize when it mattered” during of this duel which lasted more than three and a half hours on the central court of the “Caja Magica”.
I had many opportunities. It was a fantastic match. A great battle.
Novak Djokovic
The Madrid Open was only the fourth tournament for Djokovic in 2022, and his third on clay. He lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his first match in Monte Carlo, the only other Masters 1000 type tournament he has taken part in so far.
Djokovic did not play in Indian Wells or Miami. He heads to Rome this week with a record of eight wins and four losses in 2022, including a victory that came after Andy Murray withdrew from Madrid due to stomach ailments.
Djokovic started his tournament in the Spanish capital by beating Frenchman Gaël Monfils in straight sets. Then, he easily took the measure of Hubert Hurkacz in two sets in the quarterfinals.
After his duel against Monfils, the 34-year-old Serb said he had just delivered his best performance of the year, because he had the feeling, until then, that he had not played well and that he had lacked rhythm in the few tournaments he had participated in.
Djokovic had reached the quarter-finals at the only other tournament he was entered in, in Dubai in February. He had lost to Jiri Vesely.
Now the goal is to prepare to do well at the French Open, where he will be looking for a third career title.
“I think it’s going in the right direction. There is no doubt,” he said.