Potentially Djokovic could play more than 90 matches this year if he reaches the Paris final on Sunday and then does the same at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals which start at London’s 02 Arena a day later. Djokovic commented : “I’m not the freshest guy on the tour right now because I have had a long year,” he said.
However he continued: “It was very difficult to follow up after 2011 and to expect myself to repeat what I’ve done in that season, but winning one Grand Slam this year and five titles so far and being very consistent with my results helped me to be in this position right now,” Djokovic said.
“It was a very good year for me, but it’s not over. There are two more very important tournaments to come: indoors here in Paris Bercy, obviously, and then London next week.”
Certainly Djokovic is ending the season in a better physical condition than he did a year ago when he was effectively a spent force after playing in the Davis Cup the weekend after he won the US Open. A back injury saw him miss the subsequent Asian swing, and he then failed to reach a final in his three appearances on the European indoor circuit.
With his exploits of last year that bordered on super-human, Djokovic knew he had set himself a near impossible standard to live up to in 2012. But with two tournaments remaining in his schedule and the world no.1 ranking secured for a second year in succession, he’s already feeling content.
Djokovic’s coach Marian Vajda summed up the mood in the camp when he said: “Everybody said ‘How can he repeat his 2011 season?’ But this year he has played 15 tournaments so far and he made the semi-finals in every one except Madrid, so he has a very good average. You can compare the two years, and there is not a big difference. He can be very happy with what he has done.”
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Nole, Novak Djokovic, Paris Masters, Serbian tennis news, Sports, Tennis News