By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, April 11, 2023
The Monte-Carlo Country Club is Novak Djokovic’s home training base.
The world No. 1’s red-clay return wasn’t exactly a walk on a welcome mat today.
Playing his first match since March 3rd and first clay-court match since the Roland Garros quarterfinals last June, Djokovic defeated tricky lefty qualifier Ivan Gakhov 7-6(5), 6-2 in an entertaining Monte-Carlo opener.
Facing an opponent he had never seen before on a windy day, Djokovic said afterward his toughest test was adapting to dirt after a season on hard courts.
“Clay surface for me is the most challenging surface to adapt, you know, to get into the rhythm,” Djokovic told the media in Monte-Carlo. “Historically, I mean, throughout my career I needed one,wo weeks of tournaments to really start to play the way I want to play.”
Despite three weeks of training on the dirt, Djokovic said the adrenaline of playing a real match before a packed crowd, combined with unpredictable conditions, can be challenging.
“Even though I trained for three weeks and I felt good playing practice points, but, you know, it’s different when you play a match, especially, you know, today was quite windy on the court so not easy to find the rhythm, to have the ball right, the ball toss, and playing a lefty, playing someone that has not much to lose,” Djokovic said. “All these things are playing a factor in the way you feel on the court. I’m really glad I overcome the first step, because I hope things will be better and easier from this point onwards.”
The two-time Monte-Carlo champion will continue his quest to become the oldest champion in tournament history as he takes on an Italian opponent, either Lorenzo Musetti, who once pushed the 35-year-old Serbian to five sets at Roland Garros, or qualifier Luca Nardi next.
Djokovic said what he needs most is more match play.
“Of course that was my mentality throughout my entire career to always get better every year, every time I’d step out on the court, to have the right objectives and the right goals to work on certain things that are going to improve my game, I guess, and the way I feel on the court,” Djokovic said. “But, you know, with clay it’s just different than other surfaces. It takes slightly more. Match play is what I need.
“Practice points is something that helps, but nothing helps as playing an official match. So that’s why I’m hoping I can have as many matches as possible this week.”
Photo credit: Rolex…
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