2016 French Open may have been my ultimate achievement, says Djokovic
In a press conference in Madrid, Novak Djokovic recalled how it felt to win the French Open three years ago defeating Andy Murray in a four-set final. That win allowed the Serb to complete the career Grand Slam.
"Having achieved that in 2016 was maybe the ultimate achievement that I had in my career holding all four Slams at the same time," said Djokovic. "And after that, I was talking about it before that. I never thought that I will reach the phase where I will be emotionally drained and really kind of put in a position where I have to find a new drive, that I have to find new motivation and that's what I felt. Aside of the obvious thrill and joy of achieving that, after a little while I just found myself in a strange emotional situation where I just felt quite empty and it took me a while to really reinvent so to say and redefine what I want to get out of my career, how I want to keep on playing tennis and where is the motivation coming from."
He also said, "So, that was one of the biggest turning points in my life, in my career, to be honest. And when I look back at it right now, I'm grateful because at the time it wasn't easy, of course, because I was reluctant, as we all are, to a change sometimes. It had to be done in order for me to evolve and just keep on growing. And right now, it's quite phenomenal, I'm in the same position again, if I would win the French Open, to achieve this historic achievement again. I think I'm approaching it with more experience now. I'm approaching it with less additional pressure. I say 'additional' because the pressure is already there. I mean, it's normal in a way. I had additional pressure from my side because of anticipation, you know, to win in Roland Garros in 2015 and '16. So, it's in God's hands. If it happens, I think I will be dealing with it definitely much differently than I have three years ago. But there's still a long way to it. I have Madrid and Rome. They are big tournaments and I need to up my game on clay for sure if I want to get a chance to win Roland Garros."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2vNe3PJ
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