‘It’s almost disturbing to see Novak Djokovic in this state’, declares tennis legend
Tennis great Justine Henin has declared it is “always a little surprising” and “almost disturbing” to see Novak Djokovic struggle physically in the way he did at the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion assessed that Djokovic “needs this volume” of match practice he got in Monaco because he “has had very little pace since the start of the year and on this surface.”
Djokovic reached the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time since 2015, when he won the second of his two titles at the event.
The world No 1 was beaten in a three-set battle by Casper Ruud in the last four of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament on Saturday.
The 36-year-old, who was playing just his third ATP event of the season and first since Indian Wells last month, looked well short of his peak fitness levels during the tournament.
This has been a common theme for him in Monte Carlo in recent years and was particularly evident during his straight-set victories over Lorenzo Musetti and Alex de Minaur in the last 16 and quarter-finals respectively.
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Speaking to Eurosport, Henin, a former world No 1, spoke about Djokovic’s physical condition in Monte Carlo.
“It’s always a little surprising, almost disturbing, to see him in this state, but he needs this volume,” said the Belgian.
“He has had very little pace since the start of the year and on this surface, [he] will draw a lot more from his reserves, the rallies are longer.
“And apparently, with the temperature associated with the surface, that’s a lot for players to manage. He is not at his best level but he is winning matches, gaining confidence. And we saw that this (reaching the semi-finals) really gave him a smile again.”
Following his semi-final defeat to Ruud, Djokovic admitted his start to the year had not matched the lofty standards he has yet.
“I’m used to [a] really high standard in terms of expectations of the results, so not having a title is, maybe comparing to the last 15 years, not a great season at all,” the Serbian said.
“But I had semis of Australia, semis here. I only played three tournaments this year, so of course it’s normal to expect that you have some seasons where you don’t start well, and this is the one.
“Hopefully I can pick up, in terms of results, I can build from here, because, I played some good tennis. Hopefully in the next tournaments I’ll be able to play even better.”
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