(Rome) World No.1 Novak Djokovic warned on Wednesday that he was approaching the Masters 1000 in Rome to “be at the peak of (his) form at Roland-Garros”.
“I am on the right track to be in peak form at Roland-Garros,” he declared at a press conference as he enters the fray on Friday against Frenchman Corentin Moutet (83e) or the Russian Roman Safiullin (39e).
“I did a good block of training (after Monte-Carlo), I hope to play better here than in Monte-Carlo, the goal is to go as far as possible,” continued the Serbian who made the impasse on the Masters 1000 in Madrid to return to train in Belgrade.
“I am happy with how the last fourteen days have gone in view of the Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and Olympic Games, an important block for me […] But training with partners is not the same as playing against the best players in the world. We must regain the rhythm and intensity of the competition,” he stressed.
If he is still world No.1, “Djoko”, 36, is far from his usual standards during this first part of the year.
He has yet to win a title and has only played four tournaments, with his best results coming in the semi-finals at the Australian Open and Monte Carlo where he was beaten respectively by the Italian Jannik Sinner and the Norwegian Casper Ruud.