Novak Djokovic: Unlike 2016, I do not want additional pressure this time
In an interview to Tennis TV, Novak Djokovic commented on the pressure and expectations surrounding him ahead of the French Open, where he has lost three finals (2012, 2014 and 2015) and eventually managed to lift the trophy three years ago achieving the Career Grand Slam. "I have been in this particular position in 2016 when I managed to secure four Slams in a row, of course, there was a lot of pressure and expectations from around but personally it was an additional pressure that I don't want to impose myself this time. There is already big anticipation for that from my side, from everyone else but I wanna try to build my form. I don't feel like I am still playing at my best on clay, I still feel like I have a couple more steps to get to that level but that's how it has been for many years and of course this kind of surface requires a lot of time on the court and patience, so hopefully I can have two good tournaments in Madrid and Rome," said Djokovic, who also commented on how it feels like to be back in Madrid: "I try to refresh those memories from 2011 and 2016 when I won this tournament but other than that I had some finals and semis and some good results here but this tournament is played in conditions that are different from all the clay-court events. A high attitude which actually effects the play, the ball flies a lot through the air. If you have a big serve, that's quite a big advantage here, it puts a lot of pressure on your opponent, not easy to return, but I had quite a few good years here in the past and hopefully, I can start it off on a positive note."
On being the world no. 1 for 250 weeks, he concluded: "It is a great achievement and I am, obviously, very proud of it. I am grateful to have that experience and an opportunity to make the history of the sport that I love, it inspires me to keep going and motivates me to try to get more weeks and reach the guys that are in front of, of course. Making the history of the sport is an honour and is huge.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Je2XvM
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