Novak Djokovic is coming off his ninth Grand Slam win at Wimbledon, but the World No. 1 said of his chances this week: “I feel like I’m in the same position as all the other players fighting for the trophy.”
Speaking from Montreal on Sunday, the three-time Rogers Cup champion (2007, ’11-‘12) admitted his mindset is that he is on an equal playing field upon entering the tournament.
“I think many of the top players who haven’t played on the hard-court events after Wimbledon are starting from scratch,” he said. “Everybody has an equal chance. There is no easy draw. There are high expectations, but these particular tournaments, when you play the first match on a new surface after many months, can be very tricky, especially if you’re playing somebody who already has a couple matches played on this surface.”
Last year, Djokovic lost in the third round of this Masters 1000 tournament to eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This year, the Belgrade native said he feels more prepared.
“I feel different this year than I did last year after Wimbledon and the wedding that I experienced,” he said. “That period of the year was a lot to take… beautiful experiences and dates I will always remember. Overall, on and off the court, it was probably the most remarkable year of my life. But I was exhausted and I came to Canada without being emotionally ready and recharged to compete at a high level.
“I took some rest that I looked forward to, that was very much necessary. At the time when I finished the Wimbledon final, I was looking to recharge my batteries, spend time with family.”
In the same quarter as fifth seed Tomas Berdych and the same half as third seed Stan Wawrinka, Djokovic will begin his bid for a 25th Masters 1000 crown on Tuesday. The Serb opens against Thomaz Bellucci as he hopes to claim his 250th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match win. The World No. 1 leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 3-0, with all three wins having come on a clay court at the Masters 1000 level.
(Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/montreal-2015-djokovic-preview )
Topics: Atp World Tour, Montreal, Novak Djokovic, Rogers Cup, Tennis News
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