Novak Djokovic was brutally honest about his French Open chances as he said he was “embarrassed” about how low his expectations were. The world No. 1 still hasn’t reached a final, let alone won a title this year.
The defending champion in Paris is reassessing the way he looks at the tournament after a disappointing start to the season.
And he refused to “open Pandora’s box” when it came to discussing any physical issues affecting his tennis.
Djokovic had a short and sweet answer when asked how he felt mentally ahead of the French Open. “Low expectations and high hopes,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion smiled.
Asked just how low his expectations were, the 37-year-old replied: “It’s tough to talk about. It’s very subjective. You know, I almost feel a bit embarrassed to say what my expectations are. You know, anything but a title for me is not satisfactory, you know.
“So it always has been like that. I know, you know, it might sound arrogant to a lot of people, but I think I have the career that backs it up. In a way, me playing still at this highest level, one of the major reasons is trying to, you know, write more history of the sport and win the biggest titles that, you know, Paris is definitely one of them.”
It’s rare for the world No. 1 to come into a Major without much confidence but Djokovic has suffered a number of uncharacteristic losses this season, including to Tomas Machac at last week’s Geneva Open. So it’s no surprise that he is now taking a different approach in Paris.
He continued: “So that’s why my hopes and goals are always the same, but I have to lower the expectations. When I say that I mean, you know, maybe not thinking too much ahead in advance in terms of the tournament and who I might face in the later rounds, but really taking it day by day, step by step, and really building my game. Because that’s what I have really been struggling with, not really playing in a consistently good level. So I obviously need that in order to have any chance to go to the final match.”
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