The number one returns to the court at the Rome Masters, a tournament in which the Serb has managed to win six times
Novak Djokovic, who will participate in the Masters 1000 in Rome after not having participated in Madrid, said that playing against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros is one of the “biggest challenges of tennis” because he feels that “it is impenetrable, like a wall”.
Djokovic arrives in Rome as world number one, and as favorite after the casualties of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and with rest after not having participated in Madrid.
“It wasn’t part of the plan to be in Madrid, but it was part of the plan to come here to Rome,” he explained in a press conference.
“I’m physically fine. I’ve had time to rest and train well. I arrived in Rome with time to be in the headquarters and make contact with other good tennis players. I’m on a good path to be at my best at Roland Garros. The desire is to improve the level of Monte-Carlo.”
The Serb again surrendered to Nadal: “Yeah, it’s probably one of the biggest challenges that you can have in the tennis tour, playing Rafa at Roland Garros. We know his records there. I played him probably more than any other player has played him on that court.”
“The court is bigger. There is more space, which affects visually the play a lot and the feeling of the player on the court. He likes to stand behind quite far back, return. You have some times when he’s really in the zone and in the groove, not making many errors.
“You feel like he’s impenetrable. He’s like a wall. It’s really a paramount challenge to play him in Roland Garros. He’s an incredible athlete… I’m sure that it’s going to be a very emotional tournament for him.”
Renewing his team
Djokovic also spoke about the changes in his team: “I’m currently working with a coach I worked with for many years (Gebhard Phil-Gritcsh). I had no trouble adapting to his program and approach. We know each other very well and we are in sync from the very beginning in terms of what we want to do, how we want to approach the training program on and off the court.
“I’m happy with the last 14 days in terms of training, in terms of preparation for this tournament, but especially for Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympics, which is the block we are preparing for the most.”
Dominic Thiem’s withdrawal
The No. 1 commented on the rumors of Austrian Dominic Thiem’s retirement.
“I appreciate Dominic a lot. I think he’s a great example of someone who never gives up after the tough times he had and is still having with injuries, trying to get back to the level he was at when he was winning Grand Slams,” he said.
“Hopefully he can stay to play as long as he can, because he’s also a very important player for our sport.”
