Novak Djokovic, who will participate in the Madrid Open after missing the tournament last year, will look to find his winning touch and spend ‘more time on the court’. The ATP 1000 event, which started on April 26 and will take place till May 8, is being held about 50 days ahead of the prestigious Wimbledon (June 27 to July 10). 

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World No 1 Novak Djokovic will open his Madrid Open 2022 campaign against the winner of the clash between Spain’s Carlos Gimeno and Frenchman Gael Monfils after getting a bye in the first round. He is set to play on Tuesday. 

Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, has had a tough 2022. He was ruled out of the Australian Open because of the controversey around his COVID-19 vaccination status. He opened his year at Dubai, where the Serb faced a a quarter-final defeat to Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely. He then lost in the Round of 32 stage at the Monte Carlo Masters. Last month, Russia’s Andrey Rublev defeated Djokovic at the Serbian Open. 

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Novak Djokovic now looks to gear up for the Wimbledon, where he will look to win a record-equalling 21st Grand Slam. His archrival Rafael Nadal achieved the feat after winning in Australia. 

“I was looking to spend more time on the court, and that’s what I got. So of course playing finals is a good result and I have to be positive about it,” Djokovic said in a Madrid pre-tournament presser, as per atptour.com.

Ther Serb added that he needs to be patient to reach the level he wishes to. 

“I like a lot of things about the way I was hitting the ball. Of course it’s not at the level still where I wish it to be. It is a process, and I have to be patient. Hopefully things will progress in the right direction also this week. But [it was] different in Belgrade than it was in Monaco,” he explained of his fitness level. Knowing that I played four almost-three-hour matches and long, three-set battles gives me enough reason to believe that it’s headed in the right direction,” he added. 

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Djokovic has had a ‘very good week of training now, put more emphasis on fitness and building the stamina and endurance, because that’s what’s going to be necessary in order to compete with top guys on the slowest and physically most demanding surface in our sport’.