Novak Djokovic feels he is few good matches away from regaining his confidence
Novak Djokovic, whose confidence took a hit due to a string of poor results, said that he is few good matches and one good tournament away from regaining his confidence. Djokovicās slump began after he won his maiden French Open in 2016 and completed a career slam, which included 12 major honors.
Novak Djokovic, who is currently ranked 12 in the world, has had a tough 18-month dry spell, which constituted his early departure from various tournaments. Djokovic's fall in form started right after he won his maiden French Open title in June 2016 and since then, hasnāt been able to win any major tournaments. Courtesy his French Open win, he had completed a career slam and amassed 12 major honors in his illustrious career. While it is an established fact that his confidence has not been very high, Djokovic expressed that he has the beliefĀ in himself and few good matches could pave the way for his comeback.Ā
"I have always believed in myself and that's why I was able to make all my childhood dreams come true, but right now my confidence is not at the highest level," he told reporters after his training session, reported IANS.
"That's not surprising given the lack of results and all I can do is knuckle down to hard work to restore it. A few good matches and one good tournament and it will come back."
After a series of mediocre performances, Djokovic had to retire in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last year against Tomas Berdych due to an elbow injury, which kept him out of the game until Australian Open in January.Ā
In a huge upset, Australian Open saw Djokovic getting knocked out of the tournament by South Korean upstart Hyeon Chung in the round of 16. This defeat was followed by another spell on the sidelines due to an elbow surgery. He said that he had returned too early from his injury because of his hunger of the game.Ā
"That was my decision because I missed playing tennis so much but I was not ready and it backfired. After everything I have been through in the past year or so, I have had to lower my expectations but my motivation and my ambitions remain unchanged. After this year's Australian Open I wasn't sure whether I'd have elbow surgery or not. I was reluctant but then I
Since returning, he has suffered early exits in Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Miami, and Indian Wells. Djokovic admitted that this has been one of his worst spells ever.Ā
"The recent results have not been what we are used to but coming back is a process and all I can do now is knuckle down to some hard work. I have had some similar situations in the past but not one quite as challenging as this, so I have to accept it as part of a learning process," he said.Ā
The Serbian star has been putting in lots of hours in training and has been working hard for his comeback to form. He, certainly, looks desperate to return to the peak of the menās game. He also rubbished suggestions made by several local nutritionists, who made claims in recent weeks that his meat-free diet was hampering his fitness.
"I don't want to elaborate because people have been twisting facts in the past two years and all I'll say is that I reckon I know what's best for me as an athlete and a person. It doesn't affect me what people say, but it does affect those who are close to me," he added.Ā
