Novak Djokovic: Last few months have been very difficult mentally, emotionally

• Tennis News
• Novak Djokovic

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has admitted that the last few months have been tough for him but he is hoping to put it all behind him and enjoy a strong clay season. Djokovic was hoping to start his season in Australia but he was denied participation at the Australian Open.

Djokovic was ready to play the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami but he was denied entry into the United States because of his vaccination status. “I hope I won't play six matches in six months (smile). I miss the competition.

I still feel the motivation to be on the tour, competing with young players and trying to challenge the best players in the world for the biggest titles. Obviously the last four or five months have been very difficult for me mentally and emotionally, but I'm trying to put all of that behind me and move on.

Clay is the surface I grew up with in Serbia and I played for many years only on this surface in fact, and historically it is not my surface that has been the most successful for me, although I have had great success on this surface.

Of course, the Roland Garros victory last year is still fresh in my memory, so I try to take inspiration from it to start the clay-court season in the best possible way," Djokovic said, per We Love Tennis.

Djokovic hopes to be No.

1 as long as possible

On February 28, Daniil Medvedev officially became the world No. 1 for the first time in his career. Unfortunately for Medvedev, his reign was short-lived as he lost the No. 1 ranking after Indian Wells.

After losing the top spot in Indian Wells, Medvedev needed to reach at least the Miami semifinal in order to reclaim the No. 1 ranking. Medvedev reached the Miami quarterfinal, before losing to Hubert Hurkacz. “Being World No.

1 is the highest achievement that you can have in our sport, so I'll try to maintain that position as much as possible,” Djokovic said.