 "Novak Djokovic has not won a title this season having played just four tournaments. AP")
Novak Djokovic said he believes he will be in top form at the French Open and hopes to prove his credentials at the Italian Open in Rome.
The Serbian told a press conference on Wednesday that his focus is on Paris, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games and he had strategic reasons for skipping the Madrid Open .
“It was not part of the schedule. The plan was to come here. That’s basically it,” said World No. 1 Djokovic at the Italian Open.
Djokovic, who turns 37 on 22 May, just before the French Open gets underway on 26 May , said he hoped to do better than he did in his last tournament, the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost to Casper Ruud in the semi-finals .
“I’m on a good route to peak at Roland Garros in Paris,” he said.
“Hopefully, here in Rome I can play better than I did in Monte-Carlo.”
“The wish, obviously, is always to go far, but let’s see.”
Djokovic, who has won the Italian Open six times, has a bye in the first round. He said the expansion of the Masters 1000 events to two weeks has influenced scheduling choices.
“It’s a different concept now, the first time that Rome and Madrid are almost two-week events, like Indian Wells, Miami.
“It gives you more time to recover between matches if you keep going in the tournament, which I think is useful for me.”
As Djokovic continues to overhaul his team, since splitting with Goran Ivanisevic , he has rehired former physio Miljan Amanovic for “certain weeks”.
Amanovic worked alongside Djokovic from 2007 to 2017 and again from 2018 to 2022.
“I’m a proponent of having a quality team and entourage around you, having people who are experts in their field, who have experience, who have knowledge, who also understand psychology as well,” he said.
“They know how to emotionally approach you when you need help or when you need space.
“You spend a lot of time on the tour together.
“You see them much more than you see your family, especially when you’re younger, when you’re travelling literally every single week of the year.”