Novak Djokovic admits it could be his last time competing in Madrid after the Serb lost to Matteo Arnaldi in the second round.
It was a poor performance from Djokovic once again as the Serb couldn’t win his first clay court match of the season, losing in straight sets to Matteo Arnaldi.
After the match Djokovic admitted he has a better feeling than his loss in Monte-Carlo and that he lost to the better player in Arnaldi, “Well, obviously after you lose a match you don’t feel good, but I’ve had a few of these this year where I lose in the first round, unfortunately,” Djokovic stated in his press conference.
“Yeah, I knew that it’s going to be a really tough opening match for me in this tournament. Arnaldi is a really good player, quality player. I didn’t have too many matches on clay. I did practice well, but it’s completely different when you step out on the match court.
“I think the positive thing is that I really enjoyed myself more than I have, you know, in the Monte-Carlo or some other tournament, so that’s a good thing. But obviously still level of tennis is not where I would like it to be. But, you know, it is what it is. I lost to a better player.”
As cited by Djokovic, the Serb has lost countless first round matches this season as he has suffered a loss in confidence since his injury at the Australian Open.
Speaking after his loss to Arnaldi Djokovic has admitted it is a frustrating period of his career but continues to look for solutions, “Well, you can imagine, I mean, 20 years, you know, I didn’t experience what I’m experiencing in the last 12 months. So, you know, early exits and, you know, way too many,” Djokovic explained.
“But it is part of the sport, and you have to accept the circumstances and try to make the best out of the circumstances in your favor for whatever is coming up. Yeah, I mean, look, I cannot sit here and complain about my career or anything, you know, I’m not doing that. But it’s a different feeling that I just have to embrace, accept, and deal with in a special way.
“I always, you know, of course I’m always trying to be optimistic, and I know what I’m capable of. But again, things are different, obviously, with my strokes, with my body, with my movement, it’s the reality that I have to accept. I’ll try to make the most out of these new circumstances that I have, particularly on Grand Slams, where it counts the most for me, at least where I would like to do my best. So let’s see what happens.”
Ending his press conference Djokovic admitted he doesn’t know if he will return to play Madrid in the future putting his future in the sport into further question, “It could be. It could be. I’m not sure if I will come back,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic will hope to earn his first win of the clay court season when he plays in Rome next week.
