Novak Djokovic's start on clay this year hasn't been very good but he's not that concerned about it because it happened before.
The Serb is a player whose career looks awfully similar when you look at how the years unfolded. There are certain trends that happen over and over but it doesn't really end up being a problem. Djokovic tends to start matches slow but that's not a problem because he will outplay down the stretch when it matters most.
He tends to start the clay season slow which is happening this year again however there are some things that are different. He's dealing with an elbow injury on top of all of that and it's not really helping him much. It bothered him again in Banja Luka as he admitted that he didn't really feel that well after losing to Lajovic in the quarter-final.
Still, he's not too concerned. He talked down any mention of a serious injury because he wouldn't play if that was the case and also expressed that he's confident that he'll find what he needs to find before Roland Garros. He referenced previous years where he also struggled with early clay tennis only to find a good level later on.
I hope to get into tip-top shape for Roland-Garros. There are still several weeks to practice and play. In the previous seasons, I’ve always had an unsatisfying start on clay, and then played better tennis in the final stages. I hope to repeat the same pattern.
It's a solid plan and there are certain things that corroborate his words but there are a lot of moving parts and just because something worked in the past doesn't mean it will work again. Time will tell what happens but it's unlikely that Djokovic will keep struggling this much as the clay season continues.
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