‘Level of tennis was high against Nadal’-Djokovic

Novak Djokovic looked like he was another step closer to his older self, in his defeat against Rafael Nadal, in Rome on Saturday. The Serbian rallied from a 2-5 deficit in the first set, to take it to the tie-break. Djokovic seemed focused and was feeding off the massive support from the spectators. However Nadal was just too good at the important moments, for Djokovic to handle.

‘I was unfortunate, maybe, in the tiebreak. Couple of points could have gone different way. Winning tiebreak for him was a great wind to the back’, said Djokovic. He also added, ‘I did feel like playing at home, really‘ and I can only thank them for that support and love they gave me. Nadal was just better in important moments. He just managed to play right shots. And he deserved to win. He was the better player.’

Despite the hard loss, Djokovic is only taking positives from the match. He feels he is right on track, and its only a matter of time before he is back to performing up-to his lofty expectations. ‘I don’t think that there was too much of a difference, which is great for me, great news for me. Because Rafa is, of course, the best player ever to play tennis on clay courts. But I thought the level of my tennis was very high‘, said Djokovic.

 ‘I just wanted to start off the match well, which I did. I lost the break, but I managed to come back. And, yeah, very long first set, very competitive. Some points were fantastic. The crowd was into it. And I miss this feeling, you know. I miss it, I have to admit. I haven’t had that in a while. So, you know, I’m very grateful’, said Djokovic.

Well we missed you too Djokovic, and we are looking forward for you to return to winning ways as well.