
World No.1 Novak Djokovic does not have too many matches under his belt this season, which led the Serbian ramping up his training sessions and missing his press conference as he prepares to compete at the Serbia Open.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was unable to compete at Indian Wells and Miami due to his vaccination status, and lost his opening round match to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week. As a result, the 34-year old returned to his native Serbia, where he will be competing this week at his home event.
However, due to his limited match-play this season, the Serbian had to increase his practice sessions, leading to him to miss his pre-tournament press conference. Although he did reschedule, his fatigue was apparent as he took questions from the media.
"I’m sorry about that (missing the presser)," stated Djokovic. "I had four practices – twice fitness, twice tennis – so I was really tired. I need all the matches I can get here in order to prepare even better for Roland Garros.”
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Djokovic fell in the semifinals of his home event to Aslan Karatsev last year, and although he lacks adequate preparation this year, he was still in good spirits when dealing with the media. When asked what he was thinking about before falling asleep the previous night, the Serbian had a rather humorous response.
"How not to hurt our dog who was sleeping between us," said Djokovic. "Then I did some breathing exercises and fell asleep."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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