World number one Novak Djokovic made his return to court with a straight-sets victory in Rome, though headlines afterwards centred around him being accidentally struck in the head by a water bottle from up above as he signed autographs post-match. After medical checks, the Serb is okay and will face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo on Sunday as his pursuit of perfection resumes.
Djokovic determined to peak when it counts
TOURNAMENT number four of the 2024 season kicked off for world no. 1 Novak Djokovic tonight, with a 6-3, 6-1 win against French lucky loser Corentin Moutet after a first-round bye saw him headline Friday’s evening session in Rome this year.
A six-time champion at this event, the Serbian has continued making changes to his team after parting ways with head coach Goran Ivanisevic, most recently announcing a reunion alongside longtime coach Gebhard Gritsch.
That came having split from highly-rated fitness guru Marco Panichi. Multiple alterations to the Djokovic camp, in tandem with a reduced calendar, led many critics to claim he’s foreplanning retirement from the sport he long ruled supreme in.
37 in less than a fortnight’s time, the Serbian insisted Madrid wasn’t part of his personalised schedule when quizzed by journalists in the week.
Since losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semis on Jan. 26, he’s only played six matches across two Masters 1000 events – stunned by Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi at Indian Wells before Casper Ruud’s long-awaited first win over him after a tight three-set Monte-Carlo duel at the semifinal stage.
It means Djokovic hasn’t won a title in the first third of the year, an especially surprising observation given how dominant he was at times to finish 2023.
Rather than rush for results, Djokovic has exercised patience and would rather peak at the schedule’s most important tournaments – where he often stresses is his main motivation to continue playing.
“I had plenty of time to also rest and train. Had a good training block. I arrived here two days ago to get a hit on the center court, as well, obviously stayed four or five days training before my first match with top players.
I’m pleased with the way the last 10 days, 14 days went in terms of training, preparation and looking ahead to this tournament, but particularly Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Olympic Games. That’s the block for which we are preparing the most.”
He described the additional rest between matches as useful given his need for recovery time, seeing as Rome and Madrid have expanded to become nearly two-week Masters 1000 events. In addition, the defending French Open champion spoke of the synchronicity he feels with Gritsch having just rehired him.
“It didn’t take much time to adapt to his program and approach. We know each other really well, just have to wait and see how it’s going to be translated or transformed into a good performance on court.”
Carlos Alcaraz (arm) and Sinner (hip) both withdrew from Rome this past week to rehab their respective injuries and the pair lead the way as far as Djokovic’s Major rivals are concerned. Novak is notably friendly with Grigor Dimitrov and Holger Rune, both of whom have been providing invaluable training sessions for him recently.
Whether he’ll translate that seamless feeling on court and perform at his exceedingly high standards deep in big tournaments to come, we’ll have to wait and see.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via tennis.com
Mo and Sports 