By Mark Elkington
MADRID, May 7 (Reuters) – A two-week break following the
death of his grandfather has allowed Novak Djokovic to regain
his focus in time to defend his Madrid Open title this week, the
world number one said on Monday.
In his last competitive match, Djokovic was crushed 6-3 6-1
by Rafa Nadal in the Monte Carlo Open final, three days after
receiving the news about his relative.
He then pulled out of the Serbia Open in Belgrade saying he
had “no emotional energy left@ and needed to rest.
“I have had some time since my last tournament in Monte
Carlo to regroup and prepare for what’s coming up and I skipped
my hometown tournament because of the circumstances I was in,”
Djokovic told reporters.
“I didn’t find it was the right time to perform in another
tournament. I just wasn’t emotionally ready, so I got that extra
week to rest, and to prepare, and to practise and now what
happened is behind me, and I feel good.”
Djokovic’s defeat to Nadal in Monte Carlo was his first
reverse against the Spaniard in eight meetings, a run which
included beating the world number two in Madrid last year during
an outstanding 2011.
The lanky Serb said the rest had also done him good as he
sets out on a hectic schedule from now on, which includes a tilt
at a fourth Grand Slam title in a row in the French Open at the
end of the month.
“It is a very busy season now,” he added. “We have Madrid,
we have Rome, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.
It’s a lot of tournaments in a short period of time.”
Djokovic, like most of the competitors in Madrid, has been
questioned about the controversial blue clay courts being used
for the first time in a tournament.
“My opinion is that there are certain differences in the
blue clay when compared to the red clay,” he said, without
specifying.
“We can talk about it a lot but we already have it here in
front of us. The only thing that is a little disappointing from
the players’ point of view is that this was decided without the
players’ agreement.
“I’m not blaming the tournament, because they are fighting
for their own interests, but I am sure the ATP could have done
better job in representing the players rights.
“As I understand, we have the agreement for one year so
we’ll see what’s going to happen at the end of the week.”
(Reporting by Mark Elkington, editing by Ed Osmond)
