In a career which consists of 63 ATP trophies, including eleven Grand Slams and 28 Masters titles, there is still one key achievement missing from the glorious trophy cabinet of Novak Djokovic.
The French Open has brought numerous moments of heartbreak for the world No.1, who has been runner-up in the event in three out of the last four years. It is perhaps the only downside to an otherwise flawless past couple of seasons for Djokovic.
Last year he became the first tennis player to earn over $20 million in prize money within one season. He is on course to achieving the milestone two years running with his current prize money earnings standing at $4,649,495, thanks to a win-loss of 28-1 this year. The only loss suffered so far in 2016 was due to Djokovic himself. A troublesome eye infection forced him to retire in his match against Feliciano Lopez at the Doha Open.
This week he will be hoping to continue his winning ways at the prestigious Monte Carlo Masters, a tournament which has been hosted annually since 1897 at the Monte Carlo Country Club. Djokovic is the defending champion after his three sets win over Tomas Berdych in last years final. A second consecutive win in Monte Carlo would be a massive confidence boost to Djokovic’s French Open aspirations, however, the world No.1 isn’t letting his Roland Garros objective dominate his tennis career.
“I don’t like the word ‘obsession’ because it doesn’t come from the right emotion,” Djokovic said on Sunday about his French Open bid.
“But of course being the only Grand Slam I haven’t won gives me even more incentive to give my best there this year.”
One attribute to Djokovic’s dominance on the tour is his outstanding mental strength. Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, once described his son’s mental toughness as ‘granite’. Following his win over Roger Federer at the US Open last year, Djokovic spoke openly about how his mentality aided his win. The Serbian once again spoke about the power of the mind during his meeting with the media in Monte Carlo on Sunday as he refused to look ahead in his career.
“When you need to operate as a human machine, you need to do that only in the present moment and the present time,” said Djokovic.
“Not Buddhism, specifically, but mindfulness, this holistic approach that allows me to maximize my being from every aspect. Not just physical, but mental, emotional, spiritual. I try to be disciplined with all these different exercises that I do on a daily level.”
Djokovic will start his Monte Carlo campaign in the second round against either Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili or the Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely. If he wins in Monte Carlo, Djokovic will become the sixth player in history to win the title on three or more occasions. Other players to achieve the Monte Carlo treble include Ilie Nastase (3), Bjorn Borg (3), Guillermo Vilas (3), Thomas Muster (3) and Rafael Nadal (8).
Djokovic’s potential MC route;
1R – BYE
2R – Vesely
3R – Monfils
QF – Goffin / Ferrer
SF – Federer
F – Murray#montecarlorolexmasters— GameSetMatch (@Tennis17MAD) 9 April 2016
