Djokovic reveals "mental and emotional" struggle ahead of Madrid opener

Tuesday, 03 May 2022 at 14:15

Updated at Sunday, 30 June 2024 at 13:03

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bySam Frape

Novak Djokovic's return to the ATP Tour has not gone as smoothly as the Serb would have hoped, and he has cited psychological reasons for this.

Following his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which subsequently led to his refusal of entry into Australia and his not being able to defend his title Down Under, Djokovic's return to a more 'normal'- looking tour has been a complicated one.

With more and more tournaments opening up, the Serb made his first appearance back in Dubai, ultimately losing to Jiri Vesely. His run of bad form continued, with him coming up short to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Monte-Carlo before being second-best to Andrey Rublev in the final of the home tournament in Belgrade.

Despite reaching the final of said event, his route there was not easy. He had gone the distance in all of the previous rounds. Now, with the Madrid Open on the horizon, Djokovic spoke to the press about the struggles he has been facing recently.

"The challenge is definitely more on the mental and emotional side. Of course, I have never experienced anything similar to what I experienced early this season and I did not know how that’s going to affect me."

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“It obviously still – you know, I still have to deal with it to some extent. It’s not as powerful that it was in the first two, three months of the year. I feel like the more I play, the more I’m in this environment, the more comfortable I feel.”

Djokovic will open his Madrid campaign against Gael Monfils in the second round on Tuesday, where he will look to build on the momentum he gathered at the Serbia Open.

What is for sure is that Djokovic has come through adversity in the past, and all tennis fans have faith that he will be able to do it again. All of the Serbian's fans will be with crossed fingers that he can turn his current form around and get back to winning Slams as soon as possible.