Novak Djokovic has said his family has been a ‘blessing’ for him as he continues to dominate the second half of the 2018 season on the men’s tour.
Djokovic, who is just 215 points adrift from the No.1 position, has won 27 out of 28 matches since the start of Wimbledon. His latest triumph occurred at the Shanghai Rolex Masters where he defeated Borna Coric to win the tournament. Becoming only the second player to win 32 Masters 1000 titles after Rafael Nadal. Whilst it is notable that Djokovic’s resurgence has been triggered by a reunion with coach Marian Vajda, he also emphasized the importance of his family.
“Family is the key to success and balance [in] life. Emotionally they helped me a lot when I had the surgery. It’s a blessing to be a father and have a lovely family,” Djokovic told the Xinhuanet news agency earlier this week.
Earlier in the year, many was writing off the 31-year-old, despite him being one of the most successful players in the history of the sport. A serious elbow injury sidelined him from the tour for six months in 2017. He then had to undergo further surgery in February to treat the problem. On top of that, the Serbian was forced to change his service motion to relieve the pressure being applied on his elbow.
“I had to adjust to that. It took me a long time to start feeling comfortable and confident on the court again,” he explained.
Now back at the top of men’s tennis, Djokovic has once again established himself as the player to beat on the tour. He has won four out of the last five tournaments he has played in, including two grand slams. During that period, Djokovic has also defeated eight top 10 players. Not counting his win over Grigor Dimitrov at the Aegon Championships in London.
“I started to be myself again on the court [and] playing [my] best tennis from the grass court season. The last three or four months have been phenomenal in terms of the quality of tennis,” he evaluated.
With no points to defend for the rest of the year, Djokovic is a strong contender to reclaim the No.1 spot. A position he last held in November 2016. There has been talk about him taking a wild card into an ATP 500 event next week to boost his chances. Although it is unclear if he will. Roger Brennwald, who is the director of the Swiss Indoors, has said that Djokovic won’t be playing in the tournament. Meanwhile, Serbian sports website Sportska Centrala has ruled him out of playing in Vienna.
“It looks quite amazing. [I’ll] just keep going, it’s the biggest goal for me to become the World No.1 by the end of the year. It’s going to be a great challenge to race with Rafa [Nadal],” Djokovic concluded.
Djokovic next confirmed tournament will be the Paris Masters, which will begin on October 29th.
