Novak Djokovic, easy winner of Roman Safiullin 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday for his entry into contention in Monte-Carlo, enjoyed one of his “best matches” in a tournament which has not been successful for him since his second and last title in 2015. “This is one of my best matches here in a few years. These last six, seven years, I had not managed to start the season well on clay, I had difficulty with this tournament,” commented the world No.1.
“Today I really liked the way I felt on the court, the way I hit the ball. I think my two weeks of training paid off. With Nenad Zimonjic (who replaced Goran Ivanisevic as coach, editor’s note) and my team, we spent many hours thinking about the game, the movements and everything that did not work well for me during my first two tournaments of the year,” he explained.
“It’s a very good start, but we must not put the cart before the horse or set our goals too high,” he added. Favorite for an eleventh title at the Australian Open, he was eliminated in the semi-finals by future winner Jannik Sinner, before losing in his second match at Indian Wells. “I will work tomorrow to try to maintain the rhythm and the concentration in order to play the second match as well as the first. Against Musetti (who eliminated him last year in the round of 16, editor’s note) or Fils, it will be a completely different match from that against Safiullin. They like to play on earth, they give the ball a lot of spin,” he stressed.
