Novak Djokovic is hoping to continue his preparations for the
French Open by getting a few more matches under his belt at the
Serbia Open.
After missing big chunks of the first three months of the season due
to his unvaccinated status, Djokovic returned to action at the ATP
Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo last week. However, he struggled on the clay and eventually went down 6-3, 6-7
(5-7), 6-1 in the second round against the unseeded Alejandro Davidovich
Fokina from Spain. On Monte-Carlo, he said:
“I was not fully ready for the
tournament in Monte Carlo and I knew that before the tournament
started. However, I need match practice and
this is the surface (clay) that requires a lot of time spent on the
court during training sessions, and even more during matches. I hope to play more matches in Belgrade than in Monte Carlo.”
On the future he said:
“Roland Garros is the quintessential
clay-court tournament and I’m partly already there in my thoughts, in
terms of preparation and everything I’m doing at the moment to get there
as ready as I can be. My current plans include Madrid and Rome. It depends, really, on my results here and the shape I’m in. We’ll decide then.”